Blue Beer and Grey Guitars
by Ljgstorm
Summary: Rachel and Percy have been friends for years until she starts liking Percy a bit more. Percy likes blue beer and maybe the blond with the grey guitar. Percy works at the aquarium and Annabeth is in a band.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfiction, well actually it's the first thing that I have ever written really. I really hope you enjoy reading it and I would love to hear any reviews, critiques or comments you have so I know how I can work better to improve my writing.**

 **The story will be split between Percy's and Annabeth's point of views throughout.**

 **Enjoy reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.**

Chapter **One**

Percy really didn't want to be out that night. He was exhausted after a long shift at the aquarium. It was school holiday time and due to the appalling weather they'd been experiencing lately many parents had opted to drag their bored children to the city Sea Life Centre. All day he'd been inundated with question upon question from hyper primary school kids, over excited to be released from their bedroom cells, like caged animals being released by those crazed animal rights people. Don't get him wrong, Percy loved kids, his best friend Grover always said he was great with them due to him having the cognitive ability of a nine year old, but if Percy was asked one more time if "He'd found Nemo yet," he would scream.

Sometimes he felt like doing a Nemo and disappearing on an adventure. Sure, who wouldn't want to swim off into the open ocean, not knowing what you would discover on your way? Although come to think about it, Nemo ended up in a fish tank in that crazy dentist's office. Maybe Percy didn't want that after all, he'd never liked being caged up.

Right, what was he thinking about? Ahhh, stupid ADHD! He sometimes hated the way his mind would go off on some tangent like this.

So yeah, Percy didn't want to be out tonight. He'd much prefer to be at home watching a film (finding Nemo maybe? It had been ages since he had seen that and who couldn't resist those freaky seagulls. Him him!) and eat a take away pizza with a bottle of beer, or two. He wouldn't even share it with those seagulls, no matter how much they whined.

Ok Jackson, get a grip, he thought to himself. You are obviously sleep derived and spending way too much time with sea life. He tried to bring his mind back to his present surroundings but it was always so difficult when he was this tired. His ADHD mind seemed to go into over drive the more he tried to focus when he was tired. Sometimes it was best just to give in entirely. Like the great Dory always said, "Just keep swimming!"

"Yay, Perce! Glad you made it!"

Percy was suddenly pulled away from his musings by a fiery red haired, who had chosen that moment to tackle him in an insanely tight bear hug. Where did she get the strength?

It was always an experience to be hugged by Rachel Dare. She was so much shorter and willowy than he, that it was like being cuddled by an agile, ginger kitten.A kitten that wore trademark designer jeans covered in marker pen doodles and would undoubtedly have some form of paint splattered across her T-shirt and smudged onto her cheek.

Stepping back slightly to look at his friend properly, Percy noticed that tonight's paint colour was an emerald green that matched her mischievous eyes. Smiling at himself for knowing his friend so well, Percy used his shirt sleeve to wipe a smear of paint off her forehead.

With her pale alabaster skin smattered with tiny glitter like freckles, bright green eyes and curly red hair, Rachel was pretty. She always reminded Percy of a woodland fairy when he gazed at her. I wonder what she would look like with wings, Percy thought to himself. Shut up brain! First fish and seagulls, now he was focused on fairies. Gods, he was in desperate need for a drink, if only for the focusing effects of beer after a long day.

"I'm glad you decided to venture out," Rachel said again, flashing him a brilliant white smile (made so perfect through thousands of dollars' worth of orthodontic treatment). She wrapped an arm around his waist a gestured towards the crowded bar.

"Yeah, you said already," Percy replied, returning her smile. He was more than willing to be dragged towards the bar, ooh, did they do blue beer?

"I know but I thought you were going to bail on me, Jackson. Grover hinted that you might," she returned as she ordered a vodka tonic for herself and a beer for Percy (sadly ordinary in colour and not blue).

"So where are Grover and Juniper anyways?" Percy asked taking a sip of the ice cold beverage, "I thought they'd be here by now seeing as Grover knocked off work a couple of hours before me. The lucky tree hugger that he is!"

Rachel took a while to respond, taking a long sip of her drink before saying lightly, "Oh, didn't he tell you? They can't make it now, something about Juniper being so sick that she's actually turning green. You know Grover, he wouldn't want to leave her in that situation."

For some reason Rachel quickly turned away after speaking, not willing to look Percy in the eye. She fiddled with the cocktail stirrer in her glass, fizzing the drink up until a tiny tornado of tonic formed in the centre. Percy looked at her curiously, trying to decipher her behaviour. For others it may not have seemed weird, but Rachel was one of Percy's best friends and he knew her better than he knew himself. She was normally so confident and loud, never scared to voice an opinion, even if (or when, which was the most likely of outcome) it caused offence. Her loudness often verged on annoyance if Percy was being perfectly honest, although he'd never admit that to anyone else for fear of being shouted down by an even more irate Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

Come to think about it, Juniper's mysterious illness had come on pretty quickly. Percy had only spoken to Grover an hour ago when he'd finally clocked out of work and his curly haired friend hadn't mentioned a thing.

Grover had been excited about this evening for weeks now. Being an avid fan of life music – although not being very musical himself – unless piercing people's eardrums with his atrocious reed pipes counted – he never passed on a chance to listen to local bands. Tonight's headlining band was rumoured to be amazing. They'd made quite a name for themselves on the local music scene, with talks of secret recording deals being broached. Grover had been enthusing about them for months and been disappointed when every one of their gigs had clashed with one of his eco rallies. This was the first gig since he'd discovered their EP six months ago that he could attend and nothing short of a nuclear holocaust would prevent him from attending.

Man, he must love Juniper immensely to stay at home with her tonight.

"Grover must be seriously bummed to miss out on tonight," Percy mused, turning towards Rachel, "What an inconvenience for Juniper to get ill tonight. What's up with her anyways?"

Rachel seemed to be even more interested in her glass, the tornado inside was building up its ferocity and Percy was half expecting to see the Wicked Witch of the West and Auntie Em's farmhouse to go spinning through it.

"Oh, food poisoning. She ate some funny calamari at lunch and she's been puking her guts out all afternoon apparently." Something in Rachel's tone was off but Percy was too distracted by what she had said to pay close attention.

Calamari! It made him sick just thinking about it. Percy hated the idea of eating fish, he never touched it himself and always avoided the fresh fish counter at the supermarket. It was just too sad to see his little friends lying in their beds of ice. How could he ever eat a fish when he spent his days in the aquarium with fish of every colour and size glaring at him with those bulging puppy dog eyes? He was a firm believer that fish were indeed friends, not food (oh how right you were Bruce!). The thought of eating anything from the sea repulsed Percy, he wouldn't even order crispy shredded seaweed from his local Chinese, even though he was certain it wasn't real seaweed. Just the name seaweed was enough to make him blanch.

How could Juniper bring herself to eat those cute little baby squids, little tentacled devils that never hurt a fly, well until they'd made his friend's girlfriend violently sick that is. Serves her right too, Percy thought bitterly. That's karma for you, the sea will always claim its victims. Calamari indeed. She wasn't even Greek, why would she eat such a thing?

Hang on a minute... Something had just sparked in Percy's seaweed clogged brain.

"Juniper's a vegetarian, both her and Grover are," Percy said to Rachel, "Don't you remember the argument we had at that Mexican restaurant last week over what's better, chicken or cheese enchiladas?" – For the record it's got to be chicken – "Neither of them would touch meat and fish is definitely classified as meat to them."

Grover and Juniper were real vegetarians, not those so called fair weather vegetarians who would preach about the evils of killing baby sheep and pigs but would happily chow down on a fish because oily fish was just _so_ healthy. Grover hated those people, he was always banging on about how hypercritical it was because all nature's creatures were important. So killing and eating a fish was no different from shooting an African Elephant for a light snack.

"Oh, um, yeah," Rachel shifted uncomfortably, "I think it was vegan calamari."

Vegan calamari? What's that when it's at home? Was it a vegan substitute for calamari made out of some sort of plant pulp, or actual little squid that were vegan themselves? Percy smiled slightly as he imagined tiny little hemp shirt clad squid that preached the virtues of a plant based diet.

"But anyway, it doesn't matter. They're not coming now. It's just you and me tonight, Jackson," Rachel continued, finally looking up at him and flashing one of her trade mark Dare smiles.

At her words alarm bells started ringing in Percy's head. Things had begun to slot together. He looked closely at Rachel's appearance for the first time that evening. Underneath the doodles and paint Percy noticed that she was wearing smarter jeans than normal, they were tight fitting and hugged her slender curves more than usual. Her t-shirt, although plain, was made of a black slinky material that looked like real silk and she was wearing heals! Heals! Percy couldn't remember a time where he'd ever seen his friend in heals. Maybe she'd worn them at their high school prom, but that was a few years ago now and he'd not seen her in any since.

Peering closely at her porcelain face, Percy noticed the slight rouge on her cheekbones as well as the inly blackness of her eye lashes. Make up! Rachel Elizabeth Dare, heiress to Dare Enterprises, bohemian artist and childhood friend of Percy Jackson was wearing make up!

Percy was speechless. He stared at her open mouthed for what felt like hours. What was going on? Rachel never cared about her appearance, yes she always wore designer labels but that was mainly because she took great pride in modifying them with her doodles and paint splatters. So when Percy saw his friend in makeup and heals, combined with her sudden shyness, he was truly stumped!

Then it hit him like a high speed freight train. Feeling suddenly winded he was reminded of a conversation he'd had with Grover a few days ago when they'd met up for one of their post work drinks.

"She likes you man," Grover has said to him over his beer (organic ale for him, ever the conscientious eco warrior).

"Well yeah, I thought that was a given. We've been friends since we were fourteen. Surely even she wouldn't stick it out all this time if she hates me," Percy had replied, whilst adding blue food colouring to his own beer – seriously why had no one ever manufactured blue beer? It just tasted better.

"No, that's not what I meant. She likes you, likes you," Grover has insisted.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Percy asked, distracted by the blue liquid in front of him.

"It means she likes you in a non-platonic way. As in she thinks you're attractive in a way that a girl thinks a guy she wants to date is attractive."

Percy had just been taking his first sip of ice cold blue beer (seriously it was even better than blue cherry coke and that had been a firm favourite for years) before unceremoniously spitting it all over the bar at Grover's words.

"Wh...wh…what?" he's spluttered, spilling even more beer down his white work shirt, another shirt that had been ruined by blue food colouring. His boss was seriously starting to worry about him.

"She doesn't like me like that! We're just friends. That's it. Rachel only thinks of me like a brother," Percy explained, slight panic in his voice, "You and Juniper have spent too long in the company of trees if you believe that!"

With another shake of his head and further protestations that Rachel would never think of him like that, Percy and Grover ceased their conversation and returned to their drinks.

It had seemed so preposterous to Percy at the time. He and Rachel were just friends, more like bros really. Sure he'd had a slight crush on her when they were fourteen but every boy he knew had. He had been a teenage boy for gods' sakes and one of his best friends happened to be an attractive little red head. That had been years ago though, Percy has got over his little crush and really appreciated the relationship he currently had with Rachel. He had never even considered wanting anything more from the relationship and assumed she hadn't either. But that was until now.

Rachel was still peering at him with that bright smile, although Percy detected a slight timidness in her eyes. He cleared his throat and tugged at the hair at the back of his neck, a nervous habit of his.

"Um Rach…" he began.

At that moment the lights in the crowded club got dimmer as the band climbed up onto the still dark stage. Percy was distracted by the sudden change in atmosphere in the room. People stopped conversing with each other, instead they were turning their heads towards the stage in anticipation and Percy did too, relishing the excuse to postpone what was bound to be an uncomfortable conversation. At his side Rachel looked at him with ill-disguised longing for a brief second before turning her attention to the stage herself.

Percy watched as five people stood on stage organising their varied instruments. He was surprised to see that there were two female members in the band and they were not all men like he had assumed they'd be when Grover said it was a punk rock band. The stage was still too dimly lit to see the members clearly but he discerned one of the women to be tall and slender, whilst the other was small and pixie-ish. Was that a giant sitting himself comfortably behind the drum set? That guy was seriously huge!

"Evening ladies and gentlemen, let's give a huge Olympus Club welcome to tonight's headlining act, The Halfbloods!" a loud voice boomed above the sound of the crowd.

At that the whole venue erupted into loud cheers and even Percy in his confused and exhausted state began to feel the excitement.

With the sound of a heavy base line the stage was suddenly lit up by piercing bright spotlights and that's when Percy saw her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Annabeth's point of view.**

 **As always I do not own the characters only the idea to the story.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

As the already crowded music club got even busier, Annabeth began to feel her nerves grow to a new height. These weren't the usual pre set jitters that always affected her before a gig. Those were more of a tense fluttering in her stomach, like tiny, excitable owls performing somersaults inside of her. They were partly the result of her curiosity of performing to a new audience and how their music would be received, but were mainly as a result of her ADHD.

Annabeth had always had a problem with patience; the problem being that she had none. Some called her impulsive, but what might be perceived as impulse was in fact the actions of a high functioning brain that assessed all options within seconds, making it seem like she never considered anything before acting. Her over analysing aside, when Annabeth had set her mind to something she wanted to do, no what she needed to do, she had to do it there and then. There was no waiting around for her, it was either do or do not. There was no try (yep, now she sounded just like Yoda – mental note to self, she thought as her mind wandered, do not share these thoughts with the Stolls, they'd never let you live it down).

It was due to her impatient attitude that she had never got on well at school. Teachers just never seemed to like her. It was surprising really since Annabeth had enjoyed her education (as limited as it had been) and was an avid reader. Maybe there just wasn't a module in teacher training college that taught you how to cope with a highly intelligent ADHD child who had often taken it upon herself to complete her work assignments hanging upside down from a tree branch. Strange really when she came to think about it.

Now back to her nerves. Annabeth was sure some of the jittery feeling inside her was partly due to the impatient desire to be up on stage, performing with her closest friends. She never felt as alive as when her fingers were moving skilfully along the fret board of her prized grey guitar. Yes, she was excited to be back in her element again, but she was also scared, something that was hard to admit. Annabeth Chase didn't do fear. Fear wasn't an emotion that Annabeth often felt, so it had taken her a while to comprehend the reason behind the emptiness in her stomach and the dryness of her throat. Oh, so that was what fear felt like? Well Annabeth thought ruefully, it could shove it!

"Ha, someone looks like they're regretting that bet now!" Thalia smirked as she adjusted the strap to her black bass guitar.

With her short, black spiky hair, accentuated by an electric blue streak, a perchance for ripped black leather and multiple piercings, Thalia looked the epitome of a punk rock musician. Annabeth glanced down at her own attire; skinny black jeans, her favourite grey hoodie and converse high tops; she looked perfectly ordinary compared to her friend. Ordinary and unnoticeable, just how she liked it.

"Gods, you had to bring it up Thals!" Annabeth responded, suddenly feeling the urge to throw up. What was happening to her?

"No seriously, I never thought I'd see the day when Annabeth Chase was actually frightened," Thalia continued, gaining the attention of their fellow band members, "Oi, any of you losers got a camera, this is truly a Kodak moment!"

Will, the band's lead singer turned towards Annabeth with a look of sympathy that she interpreted as: "Look, I feel your pain but you brought this upon yourself". Annabeth wished he wasn't right. Behind the drum set Beckendorf ignored them all, being too busy adjusting the snare drum to pay Thalia any attention; everyone was too used to her constant teasing and sometimes it was best to ignore her so as not to encourage it further. Luke on the other hand looked Annabeth directly in the eye, a gleeful expression upon his face.

"Oh my poor Annie, wishing you'd never bet against me now?" he gloated.

"No," She was, but she was never going to let him know that, "and don't call me Annie!"

"And she isn't you're anything!" Thalia shot back, she was never one to shy away from conflict.

Annabeth continued to restring her guitar. It was just her luck that the E string had snapped right before they were due to begin. Lost in thought she was oblivious to the two quarrelling band mates next to her. Why, oh why had she made that bet? If it wasn't for her stupid pride she wouldn't be in this situation, dreading what was going to happen at the end of their set.

It had all started two weeks ago after an intensive band practice at the Halfblood headquarters, otherwise known as home. They'd been practising relentlessly for months now, dedicating every spare minute to their music. It wasn't always easy to find time to practise all together, sure they all lived together with a few other friends and were lucky enough to have space at home for practise (one of the perks of living in an abandoned warehouse, one of the many and somewhat varied perks Annabeth mused) but with their erratic work schedules and subsequent sleeping patterns, zoning in on a time when a) they were all present, b) they were awake and probably most importantly c) when the Stolls weren't up to shenanigans (an extremely rare occurrence unfortunately) was always a challenge. The reason for the additional practises was the rumours that talent scouts had been reported at their most recent gigs and there would undoubtedly be someone from the industry at Olympus Club, the biggest music venue in the city.

Annabeth had found herself lounging on a sofa with Luke while they lazily watched Travis and Connor Stoll attempt to play Guitar Hero. The brothers were spectacularly useless at it, resorting to hitting each other with their fake guitars every time they failed. At the sound of a laugh escaping Annabeth's mouth, Connor turned to her defensively.

"Oh you think you can do better do you?" he'd asked, scowling.

"Of course I could, you are looking at two guitarists here," she gestured to herself and Luke, "And by that I mean real guitarists, obviously. I'm sure I could beat both of you and Luke here."

"Mmm, you willing to bet on that, Chase?" Luke had smirked at her. He knew she could never resist a challenge.

"Sure Castellan, you're on! What are the stakes?" Annabeth had replied confidently, she had never lost a bet in her life and she wasn't about to start now.

Luke chuckled, a knowing glint in his dark blue eyes, "I dunno. Don't know if you have anything I want!" His eyes roamed up and down her body as he spoke, his lip quipped in a lustful smirk. He was goading her, trying to get her riled up, but Annabeth didn't mind. It was fun when Luke was in a challenging mood.

"Okay, I win and I get your new pedal board," Luke just smiled at that as if it wasn't a real hardship if he lost, "with all your pedals," Annabeth continued. She knew that would wipe the smirk off of his face.

As predicted Luke's smile faltered for the briefest of seconds (he'd spent months saving up for all of his effect pedals, they were his pride and joy) but then his smile quickly returned, somehow even more self-assured than before.

"You're on!"

His confidence was slightly unnerving and Annabeth had found herself asking, "What do you get if you win?" Not that his winning would ever be a possibility, but she wouldn't have been Annabeth Chase if she didn't consider all eventualities.

"Oh you know what I want," he'd replied winking at her.

Annabeth knew what that look meant. He'd been relentless for months now, never giving up. She'd always managed to find an excuse and deter him, but he wouldn't give up for long. This seemed like an ideal opportunity to stop Luke once and for all and she wasn't going to miss it.

"It's a deal," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake. She didn't miss the look of shock that briefly passed his face before it was smothered by a huge smile.

Looking back on it now, Annabeth should have seen the warning signs. Luke had been so confident in his abilities, but she had refused to see it. It was only Guitar Hero for gods' sakes, how could she loose at that? It was a game. Annabeth Chase never lost to anyone…

She had lost. It was the first time losing and it hurt like hell. But as her friend Silena always said, everyone's first time hurts and it's always a disappointment. Ok, yeah Annabeth knew this wasn't what Silena had been referring to (although she was in agreement with that sentiment – it had hurt and it was a disappointment), but come to think about it, losing to Luke hurt more. It had hurt her pride and if there was one thing in her life that Annabeth relied upon it was her pride. How could she have lost? Even now, two weeks on, she couldn't forget the look on Luke's face when he realised what had happened. It was like all of his Christmases had come at once and Annabeth was the present he'd been hoping for the most. Tonight was the night that he would be cashing in the bet. Tonight was the night she'd be giving him what he wanted. Gods, she really was going to puke.

Get a grip Chase!

Well no time for that now she thought as all of a sudden as she was blinded by spotlights – an aspect of performing that she'd always hated, like yeah blinding and disorientating people is such a great idea if you want them to perform well. Not only were the spotlights bright, they were hot. Annabeth could already feel tiny beads of perspiration forming on her forehead, it wouldn't be long before she would have to discard her hoodie in favour of the formfitting vest top she wore underneath. How could Thalia stand there in her leather jacket, did she not feel the heat? It didn't matter where they were playing, whether it was in a freezing warehouse or a crowded bar, Thalia would be wearing her leather jacket, never even breaking a sweat. This wasn't the first time that Annabeth wondered if her best friend was indeed mortal.

"It's show time!" Thalia gleefully exclaimed, plucking at her bass guitar to lead the band into their first song.

A few minutes into the set and Annabeth's nerves had vanished. She wasn't thinking about what was going to happen, being too absorbed in the music. Her fingers moved seamlessly along her guitar with such ease and skill that even Luke couldn't keep up at times, and he was a very talented guitarist. Annabeth was in her element! She didn't know how long they'd been playing for, time just ceased to exist. Playing the guitar was calming for her ADHD mind.

Although absorbed in her actions, Annabeth was aware of the appreciative sounds the crowd were making. There was a lot of cheering and clapping that was getting louder and louder as they continued to play. It was obvious that they had built up quite a fan base if the sounds of singing from the audience was anything to go by. They never played cover songs, all their music being original, but there would be one cover tonight Annabeth remembered with a prickling of fear. Just one at the end of their set, but she wouldn't dwell on that now, she was having too much fun.

Will was an excellent front man, he managed to keep the audience interested with his melodious voice and easy going attitude. He was comfortable being at the forefront, something that Annabeth never was. She enjoyed standing at the side with only her guitar to focus on. Luke was also a natural performer, he would smile at the audience and crack jokes. The steady banter between him and Will kept the audience laughing between songs, whilst giving the rest of the band a few minutes breathing space.

All too soon their set was coming to an end Annabeth realised, as her heart began to race with anticipation of what was coming next. She was beginning to lose her focus and for the first time that evening she lifted her head and gazed out into the appreciative crowd.

That's when she saw him.

Wow! That was all Annabeth could think (great vocabulary Chase, you sound like a simpleton!), yet wow was the best adjective she could think of. He looked like a god! His tall, lean frame (was that a hint of muscles she detected under his snug fitting navy Henley shirt? Don't gawp she reprimanded her wayward mind), was leaning against the bar with ease. His black hair looked ruffled like he'd just stepped in from a windswept beach while his smile was bright and full of laughter. And his eyes, oh gods his eyes!

Before Annabeth could stare anymore (falling more and more in lust with each passing second) she noticed the small red headed woman next to him put a protective hand on his chest (no fair Annabeth wanted to scream!). Of course he was taken, why wouldn't he be?

Right focus now Chase. Annabeth dropped her eyes back to her guitar and started to concentrate on her surrounding band members. They were almost at the end of their song, meaning there was only one left. The feeling of needing to puke returned to Annabeth instantly. It was almost time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Back to Percy's point of view. I hope you enjoy reading it.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

"Wow, thanks for all your support tonight guys!" the lead singer shouted into his microphone, trying to be heard above the roar of the crowd, "For our last song we're gonna do something a little different, but I'll let Luke here explain."

He moved away slightly for the male guitarist to take his place. Well that bloke thinks a lot of himself Percy thought, as he watched the guy (Lou was it?) smile and wink at all the females in the audience. Yeah a right ladies' man. Did women really fall for that sleaze? Percy peered around him and yes, yes apparently they did. Every woman in the crowd, and some of the men he also noted, were staring at that guy Luther (that was his name right?). Even Rachel was looking at him with adoration in her eyes.

Now just wait there a moment, Percy thought indignantly, didn't she like him? Wasn't that what all the make-up, flirting and touching was about? He had no idea why he was getting annoyed, he didn't like Rachel in that way. Hadn't he been about to let her down gently before the band started? Anyway there was someone else he was interested in tonight and that someone was now being dragged to the front of the stage by the sleaze ball himself, Lucius (yes, yes that was definitely it).

"Well you are all in for a treat now, curtesy of the delightful Annabeth here!" Luke/Lucius enthused to the audience, wrapping his arm around his fellow guitarist's waist.

Percy was glad to see the woman - Annabeth did that guy say? It was a name Percy had never heard before, but it suited her perfectly. It was beautiful and unique, just like the woman it belonged to – shrug his arm off from around her waist and step away slightly. Her face was a mixture of annoyance, laughter and was that a slight trace of fear Percy could see? Before he could decipher the last emotion properly it had disappeared, as Annabeth's face became an emotionless mask. Her startling grey eyes looked out into the distance, not seeming to be focusing on anything or anyone in particular.

Wow her eyes! They were amazing! Stunning even. Beautiful. Elegant. Ugh… he had no words to describe them. No words that would do them justice anyway. Pretty just didn't seem to cut it. For the first time in his life Percy wished he'd paid more attention to English classes at school (his step dad Paul would be delighted to hear that!), just so he could have a word for this moment.

He'd previously, oh so wrongly, assumed her eyes would be blue because of her blond hair, just like that slimy git standing next to her. But no, they were a stormy tornado of swirling grey and silver. They made her look both youthful and wise at the same time; as if those eyes had witnessed things in life that no eyes should ever have to see.

Just as Percy was thinking he could get lost staring at her, those gorgeous grey eyes were fixed upon his own green ones. It was just for a second, but in that second Percy felt something he'd never felt before. 12000 volts of electricity sizzled through his body, his skin tingled all over, while his heart was trying to make a break for it out of his chest. The woman, Annabeth, looked at him incredulously for the briefest of moments (had she felt it too?), before turning away again to resume her staring off into the distance.

Percy was rooted to the spot. He didn't care about anything that was going on around him. He barely noticed Rachel placing her hand upon his chest - again. Nor was he aware of the three hundred or so other people pressed into the club. His mind was focused on one person only. Percy just couldn't explain what had happened. All he knew was he wanted more of it.

"I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret here," that blond idiot on stage continued, "Tonight I'm cashing in on a bet that was made between myself and Annabeth here a few weeks ago. Annabeth lost and as you can see from her expression, she doesn't like losing." Luke laughed. Women in the audience swooned. Annabeth looked like she was going to punch him. Percy wanted to join her.

Annabeth shot Luke a withering look that would have had any other man running to his mummy, not Luke though, Percy noticed. He just continued smiling in that smug way of his. Yes, punching him would be an excellent idea, Percy's mind conceded. He wasn't usually a violent man, but something about that Luke guy was brushing him up the wrong way. Was he really getting so riled up by a man he'd never met before and would probably never see again? Percy just didn't understand it.

Okay, that was maybe a teeny bit of a lie. It was Annabeth – he found himself saying her name over and over again in his head, liking the way it rolled off his tongue. Annabeth, Annabeth, Anna- Okay focus Jackson, focus!

Ever since he'd seen her standing on that stage, lit up by the spot lights, he'd been infatuated. For the past forty five minutes (yes he knew exactly how long, down to the last second) he'd not been able to tear his eyes away from her. Rachel had frequently tried to gain his attention, by running her hands up his bare arms where he'd rolled his sleeves up, or by wrapping her hands around his waist. But he'd mainly been oblivious to all this. His eyes definitely too engaged with the beautiful blond with the grey guitar.

She was nothing like he'd imagined she would be. When he'd previously noticed the two female band members in the shadows of the unlit stage, he assumed they'd be your typical punk rocker: torn black jeans, leather, lots of silver jewellery on both body and face and maybe an extreme hair style. The pixie looking bass player stood up to his expectations, but not the tall, slender guitarist. Oh no, she was something else entirely.

Sure her long legs (and boy were they long) were clad in skinny black jeans and yes, Percy noticed, there were a few tears in them (he'd not been staring at her legs all evening, honest!) but Percy didn't think the rips were a fashion statement, more that their owner hadn't noticed or been bothered by the wear and tear. In the same way her converse had seen better days, but who really can bear throwing away their favourite trainers? Annabeth had started the night wearing a simple grey hoodie that hugged her slim frame beautifully, however the heat from the stage had resulted in her discarding it a while ago and she now stood there wearing an enticingly tight black vest top that accentuated her athletic frame perfectly. Percy wasn't ashamed to admit that his heart had started racing when he noticed the blond guitarist remove her hoodie, nor would he deny his shortness of breath when her stretching had revealed a sliver of toned, tanned stomach – well Percy was a man and he did have eyes after all!

She was just perfect. If Percy didn't know better he'd say she was a goddess. Not Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, she wasn't cliché enough for that, nor did she seem vain enough. If Percy didn't know any better he'd say she dressed down her beauty, not wanting to stand out in a crowd, preferring to remain inconspicuous. Not that that would ever be possible. Yet there was more to her than just beauty. What that was, Percy desired to find out.

Don't get him wrong, Percy was not a pervert. He didn't just focus on her looks (not that any sane person would have blamed him if he had). He'd been watching everything about her; her smile, the way she held her head back as she laughed with her friends, the concentration on her face as she was absorbed in the music. Okay, now he didn't just sound like a pervert, he now totally sounded like a creepy stalker. Percy was glad, and not for the first time, that people could not read his thoughts - although he had often been suspicious of Grover, that guy just seemed to always know what he was thinking. Weird. It must be a best friend empathy thing, Percy mused.

Percy was pulled out of his reverie when he realised that that Luke guy was still talking.

"A couple of weeks ago, Annie here," Percy noticed the scowl on Annabeth's face at the use of the nick name, "bet me that she could beat me at the game Guitar Hero, but I proved to be the real Guitar Hero!".

Luke looked around at his adoring fans, smug pride written all over his handsome face. His audience laughed along with him. Not Percy though, he stayed absolutely silent, waiting for Annabeth's response.

"Well Luke, you may be a Guitar Hero" Annabeth made finger quotations at 'hero', "But I'm the better _real_ guitarist!" she shot back, a sweet, yet intelligent, smile on her lips.

"Oh Annie, care to bet on that?" there were further laughs and cheers from the audience.

"There's no need, I think it's already been proven," she retorted as Luke raised a perfect eye brow (did the guy seriously pluck them?) in disbelief, "Lead guitar" she pointed to herself, "and rhythm guitar." she pointed to him.

"Burn, Castellan!" came a shout from the crowded table in the corner. They'd been a noisy bunch all evening, shouting and bantering with the band, as well as consuming more than their fair share of alcohol. Must be friends, Percy had assumed.

At his side Rachel stiffened, "Well she sounds like a right bitch," she murmured into Percy's ear.

Percy gave her a non-committal shrug. He couldn't disagree more. He actually thought Annabeth sounded confident and independent, like she knew her own mind – something that he always found attractive in a woman. Annabeth wasn't boasting, she was simply stating a fact. She was the better guitarist, anyone who had seen them play would agree with that statement. Anyways, that Luke guy needed someone to keep his over inflated ego from bursting.

Luke's pale cheeks flushed a delicate shade of red, and his smile faltered slightly. He soon regained his composure though and shot his fans another bright grin.

"Okay, okay, I'll give you that, but you still lost the bet Chase! You have to face the consequences. Hand over your guitar!"

A shocked hush descended on the audience at Luke's words. Was she seriously going to give him her guitar? That guitar suited her and would look stupid in the hands of anyone else and really, even with the grey guitar, Luke would never be as good a guitarist.

Percy watched as Annabeth slowly pulled the jack lead from her guitar, letting it fall to the ground with a thud. His eyes remained fixed on her as she shrugged the strap off her shoulders and passed her grey guitar over to Luke. He was pleased to see that Annabeth's expression hadn't changed, she remained emotionless at Luke's constant taunting. Percy wanted to congratulate her on how well she could control her emotions. To the casual observer she would seem unaffected but Percy knew, although he had no idea how, that underneath her show of disdain, Annabeth was secretly scared. He felt an uncontrollable urge to protect her, which was stupid really, he'd never met her. Besides something told him that this Annabeth woman could definitely look after herself.

Registering the shock emanating from the audience, Luke continued his address, "Oh no, I'm not keeping this. Annabeth would rather hand over her first born child than give up her prized guitar forever. No, fortunately for us, the stakes of the bet were much higher than simply giving me her guitar!" If it was possible Luke looked even more gleeful.

"Come on Luke, just get on with it!" quipped the bassist, idly plucking at the strings of her bass guitar.

"Okay, okay Thals! Right, so you all know what a talented guitarist Annabeth is," Luke paused whilst everyone in the club screamed in agreement, "Well, not many people are aware that she is also a phenomenal singer," he pushed Annabeth slightly so she was completely in front of the microphone stand, "So for one night only, I give you Annabeth Chase and The Halfbloods, performing 'Not that Social' by The Von Bondies!"

The roar from the audience was more deafening than ever. This was truly a shock to everyone, even The Halfbloods' diehard fans were shocked, if their confused, yet elated, faces were anything to go by.

So that was what that trace of fear on Annabeth's face had been about Percy realised. She was scared of being the centre of attention, of being left vulnerable in front of hundreds of intoxicated music lovers. She shouldn't be scared, Percy's mind insisted (for some reason he couldn't shake off the feeling of protectiveness he had for her – what was she doing to him?) Luke had said Annabeth was a phenomenal singer, right, so everything should be fine. Unless she wasn't a good singer and Luke just wanted to see Annabeth humiliate herself in front of their adoring fans. He wouldn't do that, surely? From the easy going teasing that had passed between the two of them on stage, Percy was certain they were close friends (please, please to every god out there, let them just be friends and nothing more! Percy prayed). The rest of the band wouldn't stand by and let Luke humiliate their other band mate anyway.

For thirty seconds, or it could have been thirty minutes, maybe even thirty hours actually, Percy stood motionless staring a Annabeth, willing Luke to be in earnest about the extent of her talents.

He wasn't disappointed.

Phenomenal didn't do her voice justice. Annabeth's voice was amazing. Spectacular. Magnificent even. Ugh … for the second time that evening Percy cursed his lack of attention in English classes (he really didn't need Paul to find out about this, the gloating would be endless). Annabeth's voice was simply … Percy racked his brain for an appropriate adjective –see he at least knew it was an adjective he needed. Take that Goode High School, Percy Jackson had learnt something!

Okay, maybe phenomenal was the best word. Stupid, blond, egotistical prick for thinking of it first!

For someone with such a great voice, yeah fine a phenomenal voice, Annabeth was not a confident performer. She was constantly fidgeting. Percy was convinced she could have ADHD as well. One of her delicate hands gripped the microphone stand tightly, whilst her other was constantly playing with her hair. Percy was transfixed as Annabeth fiddled with the golden curls that had escaped from the messy ponytail which had been trying valiantly to contain them. He watched as she twirled a curl around her index finger, pulling on it tightly before letting it fall free, springing up slightly as it landed. His mouth felt dry as he stared. What he wouldn't give to run his own hands through those curls and maybe run one of his own fingers along her elegant neck, following the trail of his fingers with his lips! Gods, he needed to stop thinking like that!

As Annabeth sang she never once looked up at the audience, all of whom were almost as entranced as Percy was. Her eyes remained downcast, as if she was pretending she wasn't in a crowded club and she wasn't performing to an audience of hundreds. Although obviously nervous, Annabeth's voice never once faltered. It remained clear throughout.

Percy let the song's lyrics wash over him, hearing them but at the same time not listening to them. His mind was so focused on that voice. Throughout his childhood his exasperated mum had tried in vain to find something that his hyperactive mind would concentrate on. Who would have thought that all she needed to do was find a gorgeous blond guitarist who could sing just as well as she could play the guitar? Seriously, his mum obviously had not been looking in the right places! High school would have been a hell of a lot more interesting if she had.

" _I've been hinting for a long, long time"_

At those words Annabeth raised her eyes and for the second time that night they were locked on Percy's. The same feeling passed through him, somehow more intense than previously. If that was even possible. Confusion flashed through Annabeth's silvery eyes. She had definitely felt it too! Percy's heartbeat started racing even more. Her lips quirked up into a small smile that was definitely aimed at Percy. For the rest of the song, she never once took her eyes off him.

" _Breathe in, Breathe out._

 _I know you're trying._

 _Breathe in, Breathe in."_

Come on Jackson, breathe, breath. She's telling you to breathe and right now all you can do is stare. You are going to pass out. With that thought, the song was finally over. Annabeth gave Percy one last glance then turned her attention to her band members who had all swarmed up to her in their bid to congratulate her first. Percy watched as Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and swung her around. Jealousy surged through his veins, he clenched his fists to stop himself from reacting.

"You alright Perce?" Rachel asked him, once the roar of the audience had eventually died down.

Percy looked down at his friend, confused. He'd completely forgotten that she was there. Man, he'd forgotten that he was in a room full of enthusiastic music fans. For the past three minutes it had just been him and Annabeth.

"You look pale, Perce. You okay?" Rachel repeated as she reached up to brush his black hair out of his eyes. She did look concerned, maybe Percy didn't look right.

"Um, ye..yeah I'm good. Wow, that was a good gig. It's hot in here don't you think?" Percy started pulling at the colour of his Henley shirt, "Yep, yep, defiantly hot in here. I think I need some air. You good? Cool, cool. Good, good. Yeah I'll just be going to get air. Bye"

Percy was aware that he was rambling. He was indeed hot and did need to get some air. He started pushing his way through the crowd searching for an exit. He glanced from side to side, glad that he was least a head taller than the majority of the bar's clientele. To his left there was a fire exit that stood ajar, he was making a beeline for it when he spotted a familiar head of curly brown hair. Was that Grover in the corner? No it couldn't be, he was at home looking after a green looking Juniper. Wait, was that Juniper standing with her arms around him? Percy knew he should care that his friends had lied to him, but right now he just needed some fresh air.

From somewhere behind he heard Rachel call out to him, but he ignored her. He couldn't focus on Rachel at the moment, there was only one woman on his mind.

A few minutes later he was standing in an alley way, leaning against the wall of the club. The chill spring air was just what Percy needed. He didn't know what was happening to him. An hour ago his biggest worry had been Rachel and how he could tell her he didn't feel the same. Now, he couldn't stop thinking about Annabeth. He was certain that something had passed between the two of them when she had been singing. There definitely was a spark there.

Percy knew he should go back into the club and just talk to Annabeth. All he had to do was go up to her and introduce himself, but what if he had been mistaken and she felt nothing? He'd make a fool of himself, not just in front of her but in front of her entire band. No, Percy just couldn't do it. He'd never had confidence around the opposite sex. With all of his previous relationships (okay, with his only two previous relationships) Percy had always waited for the girl to make the first move. Now he was scared.

Deep in thought Percy didn't immediately hear the other person approach him.

"Oh, sorry didn't realise anyone else was here," an all too familiar voice said. How weird that a couple of hours ago he'd never heard it before, now it felt like he'd been listening to it his whole life.

Slowly, Percy turned his head. Annabeth was standing just feet from him, her lips turned up in a small smile. Wow, she looked even more amazing close up! Those grey eyes of hers were very ethereal, like she wasn't just seeing what was in front of her, she was also seeing into Percy's soul.

"Um, yeah it was getting a bit hot in there," to emphasise his words Percy pulled at the collar of his shirt with one hand whilst his other nervously tugged at his hair.

Annabeth laughed. It sounded like rain drops twinkling through a forest. Light and carefree.

"You were hot? Try standing under all those lights for an hour. It almost got to the point that I was willing to strip this off as well." She lightly pulled at the hem of her black vest top.

Agh, Percy's heart just stopped at those words. His jaw dropped and he had to remind himself not to gape. Smooth, real smooth Jackson. You look like a fish.

"Well I'm sure that would have been fine with everyone, although some of the women in their may have had a problem with their boyfriends staring at you all night." He wasn't sure where his nerve had come from. Annabeth must think of him as a right creepy looser.

"Yeah, but once you go to the effort to take your top off, it's not long before your jeans come off as well," Annabeth responded, eye brow raised, "And then where do you stop?"

Percy spluttered. He was glad he hadn't been drinking as it would have been sprayed all over Annabeth's face. All he could think of now was Annabeth in just her lingerie. Yes, he was a pervert.

Her lips curled up into a cheeky smile, she knew what affect her words were having on him.

"So you, as well as two hundred other people, know my name. Now that seems a bit unfair doesn't it? Do I get to know your name?"

Percy was just about to respond when more footsteps were heard in the alley. The both of them turned around at once to see who had interrupted them.

"Oh there you are Percy, I was getting worried!"

Rachel all but flung herself at Percy, placing her hand on his chest in a territorial way, her eyes trained on Annabeth. Her body language all but screamed, back off he's mine! This hadn't gone unnoticed by Annabeth, who gave Percy another little smile before slowly walking back towards the club.

A she passed by Percy's side, her hand lightly brushed his thigh as she moved in closer to whisper into his ear, "So, Percy, maybe I'll see you around sometime."

And that was it, she had returned to the crowded club to be surrounded by adoring fans. Percy watched her go, speechless. He was going to kill Rachel!

Hours later Percy was propped up at the bar, another beer in front of him. He was losing count over how many beers he had drunk since his brief conversation with Annabeth. After Annabeth had left him and Rachel in the alley, Rachel had dragged Percy back to the bar, determined to regain his attention. They'd had a good couple of hours, drinking together and chatting, just like old times. It was almost like the weird atmosphere between them had never happened. Every now and then Rachel would brush her hand against his thigh (it didn't affect him almost as much as when Annabeth had done the same) or drop her head to his shoulder as they laughed over one of their shared jokes. Percy tried his hardest to have a good time. He was chatty and enthusiastic. Teasing his friend like he always did, but part of him wasn't focused on Rachel. That part was still focused on Annabeth.

Annabeth had re-joined her band members who were now seated with the large, rowdy group in the corner. As the night progressed the group had got progressively louder. The volume seemed to coincide with the sheer volume of alcohol they were consuming. Every time Percy glanced over, not that he did often (okay maybe his eyes were drawn to that group a couple of times, oh fine, maybe ten or so times) the group were engaged in some kind of drinking game. They were currently focused on a line of flaming Sambucas that was placed in front of Annabeth, it seemed like she was definitely the hero of the night. A couple of men with identical mischievous grins were goading a reluctant Annabeth into taking the shots, they must have worn her down as Percy watched in disbelief as Annabeth knocked back shot after shot. The cheer from the table was deafening.

"Percy, I think it's time to leave. The room is starting to spin, must be a sign to leave," Rachel said. She did look a little worse for the wear, maybe their last round of tequila wasn't such a great idea.

"Yeah, sure. Let me get my stuff together," Percy replied, looking around his bar stool for his leather jacket. Truth be told, he was also feeling the effects of the alcohol and needed to get at least a few hours of sleep before his early shift in the morning. What time was it anyway?

Having grabbed his jacket, he started patting his pockets down for his keys. Not that he would be driving home tonight, he was in no state for that, but he needed them to get into his apartment. His wallet was in his back pocket of his jeans like usual, but his keys were nowhere to be found.

"Crap!" Percy exclaimed, examining his jacket pocket for a sign of the missing keys. He never put them in there, but he'd been a bit distracted that evening. They could be anywhere.

When his jacket search came back clean, he really started to panic. Without those keys he wouldn't be able to get back home. Yeah sure he guessed he could crash at Rachel's, it wouldn't be the first time they'd ended up back at hers after a heavy night out, but tonight he didn't think that would be appropriate.

"Looking for these?"

Percy recognised that voice. Slowly turning around he saw Annabeth standing just inches from him, his silver key ring in her hands. It may have been the sheer amount of alcohol in his system, but Annabeth looked even better than earlier on. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her eyes bright with black specks dancing around her dilated pupils.

"You dropped them by your stool there," she pointed to Percy's abandoned bar stool.

"Uh, thanks," Percy stuttered holding out his hand for his keys. He felt a shock of electricity pass through his hand when Annabeth's fingers came into contact with his own.

"Percy, come on!" Rachel pleaded, standing by the exit, already wrapped in her coat.

Percy turned his attention back to Annabeth, wanting to say something, what that was, he didn't know, but Annabeth was already gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Annabeth's dreams were full of the sea. Swirls of deep greens and blues that were so calming and inviting, all she wanted to do was jump headfirst into them. It was odd, every time Annabeth ever thought of the sea it was always cold and grey, with huge aggressive waves that crashed down onto a rocky shoreline. The sea she thought of was always loud and volatile. She loved that sea. Loved the power that it held. It was a reminder that even when her life had been tough, even when she was ready to give up, that she needed to harness that power. That she needed to become strong to survive. The thought of that power had kept her going throughout the most difficult of times. It had helped mould her into the tough, independent person that she was today.

The sea in her dreams was neither grey nor aggressive. It was a collage of the deepest blues and indigo, bright greens and comforting turquoises. It was a peaceful sight, yet it was also powerful in its own way. It wasn't the destructive power of Annabeth's sea, it held a power that was more subtle, but none the less strong. It possessed a power that would draw someone towards it. A protectiveness that wanted people to feel comfortable and let go. The sea was calling out to her that it was okay for her to be vulnerable, that she could let down the walls she had long ago built around her heart. It would protect her, if only she would let it.

Even in her dreams Annabeth was fearful of such a power. It was scarier than violence and hostility, those she could deal with. Being asked to be vulnerable was something she couldn't cope with. People like her grew up knowing that there was no place in life for vulnerability. Vulnerability just got you killed – she'd seen it happen to others and had sworn that it would never happen to her. Trust was something that you could only hold in yourself. If you relied on others you got hurt and years ago, even as a small child, Annabeth had made a vow to never put her trust in anyone. She didn't need anyone. Even for Thalia and Luke, her closest friends, she had her guard up. No Annabeth knew that in life she could only rely on herself for support.

Dream Annabeth knew all of this - even in her subconscious she was not a fool. She knew she should turn away from the sea; turn her back on those inviting whirls of blue and green, yet she couldn't. Annabeth felt herself being drawn towards that ocean; felt her soul yearning for the protection that it offered. She wanted it so badly, more than anything she had ever wanted before, but her mind was just too stubborn to allow it to happen. It was telling her to stay away, to turn her back and just walk away.

Just as her heart and her brain, always focusing on logic and wisdom, were battling it out, her dream changed.

Annabeth was no longer standing on the beach and staring at that mystical sea. She was back at the Olympus Club, standing on stage with the rest of The Halfbloods as she sung their last song. It was just like it had been the night before. Fear and nerves were coursing through her veins and she clung onto the microphone stand for dear life, knowing that if she let go she would flee. Annabeth was no coward, running away was not an option for her, so she willed herself to stand her ground and show no fear. In defiance she raised her head and her eyes automatically, as they had in reality the night before, locked onto the tall, handsome man at the bar.

Silver grey eyes met sea green ones. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. It took all the willpower in the world to continue singing.

"Breath in, Breath Out,

I know you're trying"

Yes, she was bloody well trying. Breathing is a difficult task okay. There are so many things to do at once, so many processes to concentrate on. No wonder she was finding it difficult now. How had she done it so effortlessly before? Breathing was one of those things you shouldn't have to think about. It just happened. It was the most natural thing in the world. Not now apparently. Not when staring into the depths of the most gorgeous sea green eyes that she'd ever seen. They held so many promises of protection and love. Breathing was hard when her whole heart was beating a staccato in her chest and screaming out to let those eyes look after her.

What was she thinking? It was stupid. She's never met the man, never even set eyes on him before, but for the rest of the song her eyes remained locked onto his.

Annabeth's dream shifted again. She was still at the club, but it was a later moment that her subconscious had drawn her to. She found herself standing mere centimetres from the hottest guy she'd ever been in the presence of. Those amazing eyes were trained on her, unblinking, drinking her in. She didn't want to look into them now as she knew she would get lost in their sea green depths. No, her mind was on other things.

Apparently dream Annabeth was a lot more lustful than the real life version and to be perfectly honest that was a great accomplishment. Gods, she had been ready to throw herself at the guy last night and she probably would have done if that little red head hadn't interrupted them. Annabeth wasn't a vain person, most of the time she didn't give a crap about how she looked, but she wasn't going to deny that she had enjoyed the way the dark haired god had been looking at her. It was obvious he had wanted her and yes she had wanted him as well. So badly!

There was no territorial red head in the alley now, dream Annabeth notes with a triumphant smirk. She was going to do something she hadn't been able to do last night. Annabeth took a step forward until there was barely a millimetre between their two bodies. She could feel his warm minty breath on her face, could hear his shortness of breath and could feel the heat coming off his hard, muscular chest.

Oh how she wanted to run her hands up those muscles and feel the plains of his well tones abs beneath her fingers. She gazed into those sea green eyes, detecting a change in them. They were no longer looking at her with protective adoration. They had grown darker with pent up desire. His pupils were dilated his eyes almost looked black, as her own must be. For an undetermined amount of time – it could only have been a second, a minute or maybe a year, she didn't care – they stood staring at each other. The sexual tension growing the longer they stared. It was as if each of them were daring the other to break it first.

All of a sudden the space between them had all but disappeared as arms were wrapped around each other, pulling the other impossibly closer. Greedy fingers roamed over the other's bodies. Lips locked together, battling for dominance. Annabeth's senses were heightened. She had never felt this alive. She never wanted it to stop…

Then she woke up.

A dream, it was just a dream. Annabeth lay in bed, refusing to open her eyes, trying to fool her body into thinking she was still asleep so she could continue the dream. It had been such a good dream. Why did she always have to wake up at the best part?

A ghost of a smile flickered across her sleepy face as she remembered how it had felt to be held in those muscular arms – even if it had just been a figment of her imagination. A shiver passed down her spine as her whole body reacted to the images that were still flickering through her mind. What she wouldn't give to have those arms around her now. Or have those lips trailing kisses down her neck, nibbling and sucking trails towards her collar bone. Stop right now Chase, she admonished, get your mind out of the gutter!

Slowly Annabeth complied, tearing her thoughts from the gutter and into the present. She started to become aware of her surroundings. She was lying in her bed and could feel the soft duvet cover beneath her. Beneath her? That was odd. Annabeth tentatively stretched her fingers out, yes, she could feel her duvet below her. Okay, right, so she hadn't quite managed to get into bed last night, not surprising really after the amount of alcohol she had consumed. At least it was her bed she was in. She could definitely feel the outline of the silver owls embroidered onto her grey duvet cover. Well that was always a good sign. She had made it back to he own bedroom. All in all quite a successful night then.

It would have been even more successful if you weren't alone, a small voice in the back of her mind said.

Remembering the man from the club last night, Percy she thinks she recalls (okay, maybe the name was ingrained in her memory just a little bit), Annabeth couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she had woken up alone. How perfect would it be to wake up in his presence? Oh well, a girl can but dream.

Sighing, Annabeth shifted to get more comfortable. She considered climbing into bed properly, but that would require too much effort, something her hungover mind wasn't wanting. Besides, if she moved she would disturb the person lying next to her. As it was she was practically pinned to the bed by a heavy male arm, thrown across her middle.

Wait a minute … what the fuck? She wasn't alone?

Annabeth's mind was dragged kicking and screaming into complete consciousness. She wasn't alone? How could that be? Who was she with?

Annabeth knew who she wanted to be with, but those plans had be scuppered by that insistent pretty (yes, she wasn't so petty that she couldn't admit that the girl was indeed pretty) red head last night. Not that Annabeth had any real intention of taking things as far as her bedroom, not last night any way, she was not that sort of girl. Although apparently she was, if the arm across her stomach was anything to go by.

Oh fuck, she needed to find out who it was. Why did she have to drink so much that she couldn't remember her actions? Interestingly enough she remembered every interaction she had has with Percy perfectly, but that was something she would need to ponder later on. She had more pressing matters at the moment. Matters that were in fact pressing onto her waist.

As if on autopilot, Annabeth immediately went into defensive mode. Her free arm slowly wormed its way across her duvet, reaching for her knife that was always kept under her pillow. As her fingers wrapped around the leather hand grip the logical part of Annabeth's mind decided to make an appearance. Good job too, a brutal stabbing was not what she needed when feeling so hung over. She'd only just bought the duvet cover any way and blood stains were a nightmare to remove.

Right Chase, that logical part was saying, put your knife down. You are in your own bedroom, safe. Now, just slowly turn your head and look at who it is with you before attacking – Annabeth complied with a sigh of relief when she noticed the familiar blond mop of hair on the next pillow – now that wasn't so difficult was it?

It was only Luke, not a stranger, not a threat, just Luke. Annabeth let out another reassured sigh, she'd seriously been worried for a second. It wasn't the first time the two of them had woken up together after an exciting gig and last night's gig had been very exciting, for the both of them. From the moment The Halfbloods had finished their set, Luke had been plying her with drinks to congratulate and show how proud he was of "his Annie".

Feeling the urge to puke – due to the alcohol currently swimming in her stomach and not from the sight of a sleeping Luke, he didn't look that bad in the mornings – Annabeth shoved Luke's arm from around her. Now that she knew the identity of her mystery bed mate and wasn't too bothered about being subtle. He groaned indignantly and rolled over, snoring gently. Annabeth left him there, there was no point waking him up just yet. Luke wasn't a morning person.

Feeling better after a few minutes vomiting, Annabeth emerged from her en-suit bathroom and noticed that Luke was fully clothed, as was she herself was. This was something she had previously not noticed, having been too busy in the business of throwing up.

Fully clothed was good. Fully clothed and lying on top of the covers was even better. It implied that they had merely passed out together and nothing else. Annabeth was grateful for that fact. She'd been there, done that and not really wanted to stick around to get the t-shirt. Not that there was anything wrong with Luke, he was lovely, just not her type (unless she was drunk, lonely or on some occasions just bored - now those had been some interesting times. Right, back to the present).

Now that she was officially awake Annabeth decided to drag her aching body towards the kitchen in search of coffee. She needed something to sort out the pounding in her head and make her feel a little bit more human. There was something she had to do today, but for the life of her she couldn't think what.

Walking out of her room was more difficult than she thought. Annabeth commanded her feet to move quicker. Come on, it's not difficult, you've been doing this for the past twenty odd years, she thought with disdain. Surely even her first steps hadn't been this clumsy – she would ask her dad but he probably wouldn't even know.

After much stumbling, walking into door frames and yes, much subsequent swearing, Annabeth managed to manoeuvre herself into the main living space of the Halfbloods' warehouse. She made an automatic beeline for the huge kitchen, which took centre spot in the open plan room.

"Morning!" came a much too chipper voice from the commercial sized coffee machine (with fourteen twenty-somethings living together, a domestic coffee machine just wasn't enough).

The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted her way, settling her queasy stomach somewhat. Was there nothing that a strong black coffee couldn't solve? Yes, Annabeth definitely wanted one of those, although better make it a double shot to be on the safe side.

"Well don't you look like the living dead? I should call Hollywood and tell them an extra has left the set of Dawn of the Dead," Thalia beamed at Annabeth. For a best friend she did love to delight in her friend's misery Annabeth thought but she did make good coffee, so maybe she could be forgiven.

"Sod off Thals!" Annabeth responded with a smile, accepting her coffee gratefully.

Yum, a double shot espresso. Rich and bitter, just how she always liked it. Coffee, Annabeth amended in her head, she liked her coffee rich and bitter. Nothing else, she wasn't a gold digging masochist.

"Seriously, you do look like shit Anna," Thalia continued, looking slightly concerned, "And I'm only saying this cos I love you and as your older sister it is my job to look out for you."

"One, you're not my older sister Thalia! There is only a couple of years between us. I think that now we have both passed twenty, a while ago I might add, we can drop the protective older sibling/friend thing. Two, I actually feel like absolute shit!" To emphasise this Annabeth hit her head onto the work top that she was propped against.

Agghhh… Why had she done that? Now her head hurt even more!

"Well you get no sympathy from me. Self-inflicted! Seriously, the youth of today," Thalia smirked.

"Why are you so chipper this morning anyway?" Annabeth asked, suspicion written all over her face, "You are a crappy morning person. Last time I saw you with a smile before 9 o'clock it was when we shared that room together and you were about to pummel me for waking you up with my alarm."

Thalia beamed at her friend, obviously immersed in happy memories.

"I am still an avid morning hater, but I've got to open the shop today. I can't do that hungover," she looked towards her friend pointedly, "A tattooist can't risk losing concentration with a client in the chair."

"Yeah and don't I know it," Annabeth responded, "I have a permanent reminder of the last time you were working under the influence".

She pulled at the hem of her vest top to reveal a lopsided A entwined with a T tattooed on her hip bone. A few years ago the two of them had thought it would be a great idea if Thalia tattooed the both of them with their initials. Well Thalia had thought it was a brilliant idea anyway. Annabeth had been so engrossed in drawing up plans for a new mezzanine level that Selina wanted added to her and Beckendorf's room (a feature that everyone else had insisted upon after seeing the final result) that she'd agreed with Thalia without really listening. As it turned out, drunken tattoos were big a mistake. Who would have thought?

"It's a permanent reminder of our friendship!" Thalia responded, flashing her matching tattoo that was on her forearm.

After a few sips of the delightful black liquid Annabeth began to notice some anomalies in her surroundings. It was so quiet! A warehouse that houses fourteen loud, argumentative ADHD minded twentysomethings is never quiet. She and Thalia were the only ones in the living space, something quite unheard of before.

"Where is everyone?" Annabeth asked, looking around as if she half expected to see people jump out from behind the sofas or swing down from the climbing wall opposite – seriously that sort of behaviour was considered normal in this place.

Thalia looked up from her coffee, confusion on her pretty, elvish face, as if she'd only just noticed the absence of their housemates. With a dismissive shake of the head she went on to explain – Silena had a client waiting for an early beauty appointment, Beckendorf and Jake had left for their shift at the welding and fabrication plant, Lee was teaching an early archery lesson at the posh country club he was employed at, the Stolls had passed out in their tents a couple of hours ago after spending all night creating a new drinking game (Annabeth didn't want to know), her and Thalia could hear their loud snores, so at least they were still alive and the others were apparently still in bed. It had been a heavy night for all of them after all.

"Not sure about Luke though," Thalia shrugged, "He wasn't in his room earlier when I went to borrow a jack lead. Maybe he got lucky or something last night".

"Oh, he's asleep in my room," Annabeth said absentmindedly wandering over to the coffee machine.

"Anna!" Thalia all but screamed at her, "When are you two going to stop doing this?"

"Doing what?" Annabeth asked over her shoulder as she ground some more coffee beans. She was an expert barrister, a perk of working at a coffee shop three days a week.

"Shagging each other, that's what! I thought you weren't interested in him? That's what you kept telling me anyway, but no, as soon as either of you have had the slightest drink you jump into bed together!"

Thalia stood, glaring at Annabeth, her hands resting on her hips, in a "don't lie to me" kind of way. If Annabeth didn't know how violent Thalia got when annoyed she would've laughed at the smaller girl.

"We do not jump into bed together!" Annabeth shot back indignantly, getting just as angry as Thalia now. When her friend raised a sceptical eye brow she relented, a bit "Okay, in the past we may have done just that, but that's just it, it's in the past. Luke is like a brother to me Thals".

"I don't see you ever sleeping with Malcolm," Thalia said.

"Eww, he's actually my brother Thalia. Don't be so gross," Annabeth exclaimed, shuddering at such a horrible and unasked for mental image, "Luke and I are just friends. Last night we must have passed out because I woke to find the both of us asleep on top of my bed covers. Fully clothed". She emphasised the last two words.

That seemed to satisfy Thalia because she took the proffered coffee cup from Annabeth without a word. Thalia stood opposite her oldest friend, eyeing her over the brim of her cup, a sly smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

"Well that's a relief because I could have sworn Miss Annabeth Chase had set her sights on someone else last night. I assume it was that gorgeous dark haired man you were talking to, after you snuck off at the end of the set?" She stared intently at her friend's face, obviously amused at the blush spreading across her cheeks.

Annabeth was not usually the blushing type, but she couldn't help it. Must be the hangover she thought defiantly. It couldn't have had anything to do with last night's dreams or anything to do with the flirting banter she had shared with Percy in the alley. Nor was it anything to do with the way his thigh felt under her hand as she brushed past him. No, her blush was definitely alcohol induced. That's all. Annabeth Chase did not blush at the thought of sexy god like men. No, certainly not. She was much too sensible for that.

Keep telling yourself that, Chase.

"Um, maybe," Annabeth responded, non-committedly as she twirled a curl around her finger. When had she turned all girly and started doing that? To combat her confusion she started practicing chord rifts on the work top, a nervous habit she's developed years ago. Yes that was more like her.

"I so thought so!" Thalia screamed for the second time that morning. She seriously had very little respect for the delicate condition of her best friend, "He was so checking you out all night. Couldn't keep his eyes off you. I almost missed my cue for 'Seven Layers' because I was focused on watching his expression. He was infatuated!"

Annabeth felt herself blush again. What was happening to her! It was like she was turning into a hormonal teenager all over again. Had he really been staring at her intently all night? She hadn't had a clue. Mmm, maybe he really was interested in her. It was a shame she didn't have his number, or knew his full name for that matter.

"At the risk of sounding like Silena, you definitely need to hook up with him!" Thalia said, pounding the stainless steel work top to emphasise her point.

"Well I'd love to, but can't see that happening," Annabeth sighed wistfully, "I've got no idea who he is or how to contact him".

"What?" Thalia yelled again. What was wrong with the girl? She seriously did not have any volume control, "I assumed you exchanged numbers when you approached him after those Sambucas".

Ahh, she had drunk Sambucas last night. That would explained the pounding headache and queasy stomach.

"Um, no. I may have found his keys and returned them to him before he left," Annabeth made finger quotations at the word 'found'.

Thalia looked at her, confusion written across her face before she barked out a laugh that was sure to wake the rest up, "Oh, fucking hell Anna, you didn't?" she began laughing hysterically, "You pick pocketed him, didn't you?"

Thalia was now laughing so hard, coffee was spilling down her shaking arms.

Instead of blushing Annabeth smiled slyly, her friend knew her so well.

"Um yeah, seemed like an excellent excuse to talk to him again," she said, nonchalantly taking a sip of her coffee, "I am an expert pick pocket as you well know". She winked at Thalia who was still laughing uncontrollably.

"That has got to be the weirdest way to chat a guy up!" Thalia shouted gleefully, tears of laughter rolling down her face.

She couldn't help it, Annabeth began laughing too. Last night it had seemed like a perfectly logical thing to do. She had been so put out when Percy was being pestered by his friend in the alley that she wasn't thinking straight. Yes it was an odd thing to do (blame it on the alcohol), but it meant she'd been able to run her had up his very muscly thigh. He'd been none the wiser.

The two women were so immersed in laughing that they didn't initially hear the doorbell go. This was quite the achievement as a loud conch blast is something very difficult to ignore. The bell was rung a further five times before anyone made any effort to acknowledge it.

"I'll get that, shall I?" a dishevelled and highly ticked of Travis Stoll shouted, stalking across the kitchen in just his boxers.

The two women barely gave him a second glance. Seeing one of their house mates in a state of undress was not an infrequent occurrence. At least this morning Travis was wearing boxers. Annabeth shuddered at the memory of him and his brother streaking across the kitchen the last time they'd played strip poker.

In hindsight someone should have stopped Travis from opening the front door half naked. As the large steel front door was pulled back Annabeth heard a high pitched lady's shriek, followed by the giggles of two highly amused eight year olds.

"Annabeth, it's for you!" Travis yelled across the room, not ashamed in the least at being caught in his underwear.

It suddenly came back to Annabeth, that's what she was meant to be doing today. She was taking her half-brothers to the aquarium.

Half an hour later, after a very quick shower and a breakfast of dry toast (she really couldn't handle anything else right now) Annabeth was dressed and out of the door, two overly excited ten year olds in tow.

Annabeth had left the boys in Thalia's care while she got ready. It probably wasn't the best idea as Thalia didn't have a maternal bone in her body, but then again neither did Annabeth. Guess that happened when there was no maternal influences in their own lives. Hopefully Thalia didn't decide to tattoo the eight year olds, Annabeth would never be able to explain that to her father and step mother.

To the casual observer the three of them made a happy sight – older sister taking her two younger siblings , way younger siblings (yeah, thanks for that Dad, a sixteen year age gap's not weird at all) out for a fun family outing. The casual observer would see the siblings chatting and teasing each other like it was the most natural thing in the world. They wouldn't notice the slight stiffness in Annabeth's posture as she held her brothers' hands to cross the road, or the way her hands immediately dropped to her side when they'd reached the opposite kerb. Nor would they notice how she walked a few paces in front of them, unaccustomed to keeping pace with such little legs.

What could be more natural than a bit of sibling bonding? Even with the large age gap it was lovely to see the three of them interacting. The thing was, this wasn't natural at all. Every time Annabeth was with Bobby and Mathew she felt like she was playing a part. She wasn't comfortable being the natural older sister. Annabeth hadn't been around when her brothers were born, she'd not held them as babies, she hadn't spent her later teenage years babysitting and watching them grow. Up until six months ago she wasn't even aware of their existence.

Due to insufficient parental care caused by a physically absent mother and an emotionally absent father – Annabeth wouldn't say she was neglected as such, she was fed and clothed, but there was never any love or nurture in her early childhood – Annabeth had run away from home at the age of seven. She had never looked back. Since then she had looked after herself and barely ever thought about her father. That all changed six months ago when Frederick Chase had appeared out of the blue at one of her gigs. He said he'd recognised Annabeth straight away when looking at a promotional flyer for The Halfbloods – well he'd recognised Annabeth's mother any way, apparently Annabeth looked just like her, although blond instead of dark haired. There had been an emotional reunion, on Frederick's part anyway, Annabeth had long learnt to shut off her emotions. Frederick had apologised for being a poor excuse of a father and wanted to reconcile with his estranged daughter.

So that's how Annabeth now found herself bonding with her half-brothers.

Bonding, Annabeth scoffed. It wasn't bonding her step mother wanted from her, it was a free babysitter.

Still, she owed it to herself and the two little boys to give it a try. As long as she didn't become emotionally attached she would be able to walk away whenever she wanted. That's what she told herself anyway.

"Annabeth! Annabeth, are there sharks at the aquarium? I want to see a shark!" Bobby enthused, running up to his older sister and clasping her hand tightly. Annabeth tried not to pull away, it wasn't his fault she didn't feel like a part of his family.

"But Bobby, mum says we can't see the sharks cos they are too scary," Mathew replied, chewing on his bottom lip. In the short time she'd known the boys Annabeth had learnt that Mathew was the quiet reserved one while Bobby was louder and more outgoing.

"Mum isn't with us though Mathew. Annabeth's in charge and she's gonna let us see the sharks for our project!" Annabeth couldn't help but smile at Bobby's confidence.

"Oh is she now?" she nudged Bobby playfully in the side, "I think you'll find that as your responsible adult, I'm under strict instructions to take you to the aquarium so you can learn about seahorses for your school project".

"But you're not a responsible adult Annabeth, mum says you're an irresponsible delinquent," Bobby responded, stumbling at bit on the word delinquent.

Anger surged through Annabeth. How dare her stepmother say that! What did she know about Annabeth's life? Sure she didn't live a conventional life, but really who could blame her after the childhood she's had? This was just another example of how narrow minded her step mother could be.

"Fine, we will learn about sharks and you can do your project on them," Annabeth declared defiantly, "Call me an irresponsible delinquent? That'll show you!" she mumbled under her breath.

Both boys jumped about, clapping and screaming in excitement. Apparently Annabeth had definitely won cool older sister points.

In no time at all they arrived at the aquarium. Annabeth did her best to calm the boys down whilst they queued for tickets, but she soon realised she was fighting a losing battle. They were just too excitable. They weren't the only ones either. The aquarium foyer, which was designed to look like a huge shark's jaw (Bobby and Mathew had screamed even louder at that) was rammed packed full of squealing children and their exasperated parents. The joys of parenthood written all over their stressed faces.

Finally, they reached the front of the queue and Annabeth almost choked when she saw the admission price. Seriously people paid that much to gawp at fish! It was a good thing The Halfbloods were paid generously for the gig yesterday, even splitting their fee five ways it was generous, or she'd never be able to afford the admission. Her father had offered to pay for the outing but Annabeth declined, she hadn't needed his help for the past seventeen years and she wasn't about to start now.

Leaving the ticket booth Annabeth motioned to the boys to follow her. They ran screaming and leaping through the giant shark's mouth which produced a deafening snapping sound as they passed through. Great Annabeth thought, not only did she have to cope with hundreds of noisy children, her poor hungover head had to deal with stupid sound effects as well. It was going to be a long day.

The siblings passed a happy couple of hours looking at all of the different tanks. The boys were delighted over the tropical coral reef tank, almost having joint heart attacks when they spotted a loan clown fish weaving its way through the reef.

"It's Nemo! Look Annabeth, it's really Nemo!"

They visited the stingray pool where both boys had the opportunity to touch a ray. Next they went to the Penguin section and spent an enjoyable twenty minutes watching the handlers feed them. Mathew sat transfixed and squealed every time the little penguins leapt up for a fish. Bobby on the other hand started getting bored after a few minutes and began nagging Annabeth about leaving to see his beloved sharks. Annabeth, who's pounding head was appreciating the dark coolness if the room, wasn't in any hurry to leave. Her head was still spinning as much as it had that morning. Damn those Sambucas and gods know what else she had drunk the previous night.

"Sharks, Annabeth, I need to see sharks! Mrs Martin says we have to do a project on the fish of our choice and you promised us sharks!" Bobby exclaimed, hitting out at Annabeth's head.

Her quick reflexes were put into action and she managed to grab his hand before it made contact with her sore head, all with her eyes closed. Quite impressive, even if she did say so herself.

"Stop that Bobby, or we won't go to see sharks and you will be forced to write about seahorses".

"Come on please Annabeth, we want to see the sharks," Bobby was relentless, "I'm going to find out where they are. That man will know".

In an instant Bobby wriggled out of Annabeth's grip and started running away. Annabeth's eyes shot open, seeking out her younger brother who was running out of the penguin enclosure towards the adjoining corridor after an aquarium employee. Quickly grabbing her other brother's hand she left in pursuit of the fleeing boy.

The corridor was full to bursting with children of all ages and their parents. The two of them darted in and out of loud family groups, not even stopping to apologise when Mathew ran into a smaller girl, causing her to spill her drink. There was no time for politeness now, Annabeth was on a mission to find Bobby. She was certain her stepmother wouldn't appreciate if he got lost, even though she did have an identical replica in Mathew.

"There Annabeth!" a panting Mathew shouted, raising his and Annabeth's clasped hands towards an oblivious Bobby, who was happily conversing with a tall, dark haired aquarium employee.

Irritation boiled up inside of Annabeth. Why couldn't the boy have waited? He'd almost caused her to panic when he ran off. Shaking, she realised that she had actually been worried about him. Worried for the small boy, even against her wishes, she was getting attached to the little boys. Well, well, well Annabeth Chase getting sentimental, that was something new.

To cover her confusion she tugged on Mathew's hand slightly harder than intended and dragged him towards his twin.

"Bobby Chase, get back here right now! Don't you dare run off like that again!" Annabeth yelled, approaching the boy.

Bobby and the aquarium employee turned around at her approach. All anger Annabeth had been feeling disappeared when her eyes locked with a pair of familiar sea green ones. Her heart started beating faster, her breath becoming shorter. Oh no, not now!

"This is Percy, Annabeth. He said he would give us a guided tour of the sharks," Bobby said. Annabeth barely heard him.

Terror washed over her like a tidal wave. This was not how she imagined her next meeting with Percy to be. In all of those scenarios she's been calm and composed, not flushed after running the entire length of the Sea Life Centre. To her horror she realised what she must look like. In her rush to get ready that morning, she hadn't paid much attention to her appearance. Her golden curls were pulled back into an untidy bun at the nape of her neck, her make-up free face was pale with dark purple shadows under her tired eyes. Luke had still been asleep in her room when Annabeth had gone to shower so she'd decided to get ready in Thalia's room instead, meaning she was now dressed in last night's jeans and converse and one of Thalia's black T-shirts ('Death to Barbie' was scrawled across her chest). Thalia being a lot shorter than Annabeth meant the T-shirt was riding up, exposing her hip bone and a couple of inches of stomach.

Annabeth hadn't given a toss about any of this when leaving the house. Seriously, who dressed up for a trip to the aquarium? Now she wished more than anything that she had made some sort of effort.

Percy still had not taken his eyes off hers.

"Well hello Annabeth, you did say you might see me around sometime".

He gave her a cheeky wink.

That's it, Annabeth was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Was this shift ever going to end? It was seriously the shift from hell, or Hades, whatever your name was for that deep, dark underground place that produced such soul sucking shifts. Percy didn't know what he had done to deserve such a shift. Maye he'd been an axe murderer in a previous life? Um, not very likely, that did seem a bit extreme. Surely his punishment would be more intense if that had been the case, it would certainly involve maiming of some sort or maybe opera music (yep, that sounds torturous enough). It was possibly more likely that he'd been a traffic warden. Everybody hates them. Like who as a child dreams of one day wearing a uniform similar to that of a policeman but only having the power to ruin people's lives with parking fines? Really sadistic kids, that's who. And apparently Percy had been one of them, or be it in a previous life, if this hellish shift was anything to go by.

Why was it such a hellish shift you may ask? What marked it as any different to the other difficult shifts Percy had experienced over the previous week of spring holiday madness?

It was the sheer number of screaming children. There were everywhere! Percy was starting to wonder if the loud, snotty nosed brats actually outnumbered the fish. It was looking close. At least the fish were enclosed behind reinforced glass, where no one could hear them scream. Percy was beginning to wish he could breathe underwater, if only for the peace and quiet it would offer.

It was not like the Sea Life Centre was usually a kid free environment. Of course not. It was typically packed with children. When Percy had taken up his job there, fresh out of university, he'd known he'd need to interact with children on a daily basis and he'd been fine with that. It was normally his favourite part of the job. Percy loved sharing his passion for marine life with the excitable little people. He normally went out of his way to impart knowledge and answer even the most mundane of childish questions – his favourite being "Where does all the fish poo go?" But today the amount of children was just too overwhelming, even for an easy going guy like himself.

That mixed with his banging hangover (beer and tequila, not a great combination apparently) had made for one horrible seven hours at work.

Glancing down at his watch, Percy made the decision to head for the penguin enclosure. That cool, dark room was just what his pounding headache was screaming out for.

An hour to go! His heart soared at the thought. In an hour he could be out of this place and heading in search of food. Percy had never been one of those hungover people that shunned the merest suggestion of eating. Quite the contrary. He was a firm believer that only food, preferably blue food, could cure the feeling of sickness.

Deep in blue food related thoughts, Percy didn't notice that he'd walked straight past the penguin room. He would've kept on walking, fantasising about his favourite blue pancakes, if the small hand on his arm hadn't pulled him back to the present.

"Excuse me, er Sir, er Sir Percy?" a little boy said at his side. His little dark head craning upwards to read Percy's name tag.

Percy stopped and gazed down at the kid. What was it he had called him? Sir Percy? Percy liked the sound of that. He'd always fancied himself as a knight in shining armour, riding around the Kingdom saving fair maidens from whatever fair maidens always seemed to need saving from. It was normally dragons wasn't it? He wondered what the dragon population in the city was at the moment. Zero probably, so what did the modern fair maiden need saving from? Pigeons? Rats? Somehow saving a fair maiden from a pigeon just didn't sound chivalrous enough. As a knight he would gallop up and save the day and receive a kiss for his troubles. Now that sounded like the life. Ooh, he'd have to get himself a horse. A black stallion would suit him best. He could just imagine himself riding atop a sleek, powerful stallion. What would he call it? Blackjack maybe? That was a great name for a noble steed. Oh wait, that was the name of his motorbike. It might be weird naming a horse after his bike, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

Once again the ADHD side of Percy's brain had taken over, big time. Percy was mentally picturing himself in medieval armour – surely it couldn't be that heavy – and wielding a sword. A sword would be so cool! They were quite long though, what did knights do with them when not in use? It's not like they could be stashed away in a pocket like a pen. Oh, wait that was an idea, someone should invent a sword that could be compressed into pen form for ease of transport. Just what the modern day knight needed. He'd absolutely buy one! Why stop at swords? He could have shields that popped out of watches and spears that compacted into cans. He was definitely onto something here.

Before Percy got too carried away with his excitement and pitched the idea on Dragon's Den, the logical, and slightly less used, side of his brain pointed out that modern day knights were extremely rare (due to the decreasing dragon population obviously) and the market for such products would be limited. Shame really.

It took Percy a full two minutes to realise the boy at his side had finished speaking and was now looking at him expectantly.

Crap, what had the boy been saying? Something about fish maybe (well obviously Jackson. what else would a child be asking about in an aquarium? Monkeys?) Shaking his head to clear his muddled thoughts, as well as attempting to shift the alcohol induced cloud currently holding court in his head, Percy decided the best course of action was to put on a professional face. Professional face on, he just needed to think of something professional to say. When he could think of nothing he settled for an extremely unprofessional "Er?"

Once again Percy Jackson you have proved yourself to be the simpleton that everyone thinks you are, he thought to himself.

Cut me some slack, the slightly more optimistic side of his brain countered, I'm seven hours into a horrible shift and completely sleep deprived. Not to mention hung over. He was definitely still hungover. The headache of his wasn't going away any time soon either. He was tired, grumpy and hungry. Percy Jackson needed blue food!

"You weren't listening to me were you?" the boy at his side continued, glaring at Percy accusingly, "Don't worry, my sister Anna…"

At that Percy zoned out again. He couldn't help it. The mention of that name produced visions in in his mind of stormy grey eyes and sexy smiles. He was immediately transported back to the previous night. Gods, he'd never met anyone like her. Okay, granted they'd barely had the opportunity to get to know each other before Rachel had interrupted them but Percy had been deeply affected by their meeting. A connection had passed through them, he'd felt it when she was singing and even more as her hand ran up his thigh. Percy was sure Annabeth had felt it too. Well she had obviously felt his thigh but what about the connection, chemistry, whatever you wanted to call it?

Percy had spent the rest of his night thinking and dreaming about her and they were probably the best dreams of his life. Percy was glad no one else could see into his dreams. As kids, he and Grover had thought it would be cool to share dreams. Who wouldn't want to go on dream adventures with their best friend? It had all made sense to the pre-teen boys, but not now. Percy was thankful that his dreams of Annabeth were kept to himself because let's just say what he and Annabeth has got up to was not something a guy wanted to share with his friend. Even if it was his best friend.

"So my sister said we could learn about sharks for our school project but mum says they are too scary. She's pretty cool for an older sister, even if she is an irresponsible delinquent," the kid said, stuttering slightly over the last word.

Percy couldn't help laughing at the younger boy's description of his sister. It was obvious he had heard it a lot from his parents who were apparently frustrated with their teenage daughters antics. Percy honestly couldn't blame them, he remembered himself as a teenager and irresponsible delinquent was a very apt description.

"So will you tell me where the sharks are please?" the boy stared up at Percy with the widest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen, they could surely rival his own (and Percy Jackson was famed for his persuasive puppy dog eyes – or seal eyes as many had called them). This boy in front of him definitely knew how to play people.

"Tell you what mate," Percy said, laughing "I'll give you and your irresponsible delinquent of a sister a guided tour of the shark exhibit and help you out with this project of yours".

The boys eyes lit up and he let out an excited whoop, chattering away about how cool Percy was (almost as cool as his sister apparently) and how he couldn't wait to tell Mathew – whoever that was – who was going to be "well excited". Percy laughed again at the little man's glee. Sure what harm could it do, he thought. It was the perfect way to spend the remainder of his shift and it would keep his mind occupied so it didn't stray any more down a path that only led to Annabeth. He also had to admit that he was curious to meet this delinquent sister of his, even if in general teenage girls annoyed the hell out of him with all their squealing. Gods, he hoped the girl wasn't the squealing type.

An hour of showing this kid and his sister (fingers crossed on the squealing) around the shark habitats and he'd be free to head off in search of mountains of food. Percy wondered if he had any food in his kitchen cupboards. It had been ages since he'd last gone shopping. Maybe he'd pop round to Grover's instead. Any food, even vegan food, was better than no food at all.

With his plan in mind Percy and the kid, who'd introduced himself as Bobby Chase, turned towards the shark wing chatting away about their favourite sharks (hammerheads for Percy and the Great White for Bobby). They'd maybe got five metres before they were stopped in their tracks by loud shouting.

"Bobby Chase, get back here right now! Don't you dare run off like that again!"

Must be this delinquent sister Percy had heard so much about. Hmm, she didn't sound like a squealing teenager to Percy, which was undeniably a bonus. He was about to turn around and smile when his heart started racing and his palms became sweaty. That voice. He recognised it. Sure, he had not ever heard it quite so loud or as angry before, but he knew he had certainly heard it before.

Percy racked his poor hungover brain to see why it was so familiar. All of a sudden the pounding in his heart increased and his breath became short. The memory of soft lips against his ear and the warm breathe of a woman as she leant into him to speak, filled his mind. A name came to the forefront of his mind. It was …

Shit! Annabeth. That voice belonged to Annabeth! Annabeth was here. At the aquarium. The aquarium where Percy worked. Here.

Shit!

The hammering of his heart reached a crescendo. Percy was sure it was going to leap out of his chest and land on the blue marble of the Sea Life Centre floor. Annabeth was here. The woman he hadn't been able to get out of his head since last night was just behind him. The woman who infiltrated his thoughts and dreams (a dark flush soared up his neck as the actions of those dreams came back to him).

Whilst Percy was trying to remind his body how breathing worked another thought sprung to mind. Hang on a minute, Annabeth was Bobby's irresponsible delinquent sister? He absolutely wanted to learn how she'd earnt that title.

This was not how Percy had imagined his next meeting with Annabeth to go. Not that he was expecting a next meeting, but a guy can hope (and fantasise) can't he? In all of the scenarios that he'd imaged (and yes they had been many and varied) he was never at work.

Oh Gods, he was dressed in his work uniform! Percy quickly glanced down to check he looked okay. Mainly he was looking for any signs of blue on his white polo shirt – he'd had a blue Powerade for breakfast that morning, the cornerstone of all healthy diets. When his shirt inspection didn't turn up with any unsightly stains, he breathed in a sigh of relief. It would be just his luck if Annabeth saw blue splodges all over his chest. Percy was sure to embarrass himself enough without the help of his clothes. He just had to open his mouth and let the embarrassment flow on out.

Crap! He was going to have to talk to her! Not that he didn't want to talk to Annabeth, because he really, really did. It was just when he got nervous talking was difficult. Percy had the annoying habit of blurting out the first thing that came to his head when under pressure. For most people this wouldn't be too much of an issue, however when one has ADHD you cannot rely on that being a sensible thing.

Percy nervously thought back to a disastrous blind date Grover has set him up on a few years ago. He'd gotten so nervous that he had asked the poor girl what she thought parrot tasted like. His date had given him an affronted look before standing to leave. How was Percy supposed to know that she was vegan? Yes, the vegan restaurant they were seated in and the fact that her best friend was Juniper should have given it away but Percy was not famed for being the sharpest sea urchin in the ocean. Needless to say there was no second date.

Percy actually liked Annabeth, he really couldn't risk blurting out anything like that now!

From what he had observed from his brief encounters with her, Annabeth was an intelligent woman. She was quick and witty, hadn't she put that slimy git Lucius in his place last night? It wasn't just words though, Annabeth just looked intelligent. Those gorgeous grey eyes of hers were full of wisdom. How could he, Percy Jackson, who had ADHD and dyslexia, compete with someone like that? He would never be good enough for her.

At least thirty seconds had passed since Annabeth had called out and still Percy had not turned. He just couldn't, it was as if his feet were firmly glued to the floor beneath him. At this point he could really do with a pep talk, either from his mum or Grover, they were always good at boosting his confidence. Unfortunately Percy was considered an adult (in the loosest sense of the word) and didn't need a carer to get through life (yeah right). He was on his own.

Right, a Percy Jackson self-pep talk it was then!

 _Right Jackson, just turn around and smile. Say something charming (but not too charming, you don't want to come across as smarmy), witty (but subtly, you don't want her thinking you are taking the piss) and intelligent (right, that one is going to be hard. Do you even know anything remotely intelligent? Nope, thought as much. Okay just skip that one. To be honest I'm not even sure you'll do great on the first two steps. Maybe keep your mouth shut altogether. Just turn around and pretend to be someone else. Quit your job and flee the aquarium. Change your name and join the French Foreign Legion. It's for the best really mate)._

So apparently Percy Jackson self-pep talks were not as effective as those from either his mum or Grover. He never felt like fleeing the country after speaking to them.

Maybe another go would help?

 _For fucks sake, grow a pair and man up Jackson!_

Listening to that last piece of advice Percy gulped and turned around.

His heart skipped a beat. It actually skipped. Percy didn't even know that was humanly possible. He always assumed that it was something writers made up, just a bit of poetic licence. Ooh poetic licence that sounded intelligent, maybe he'd store that gem away for later.

Annabeth looked even more amazing than he remembered and Percy Jackson had quite the imagination. Sure, she looked slightly dishevelled after sprinting in search of her brother and her face was flushed red from yelling at Bobby, but to Percy all of that just added to her charm. It made her look more human and less like an intimidating goddess.

Her beautiful blond curls were pulled carelessly into a loose bun exposing the full length of her neck. Annabeth had a great neck, it was long and slender. Percy had never really thought of necks as being beautiful before, but Annabeth's neck was. He would give anything to run his tongue along its smooth canvas, sucking on her most sensitive spot, watching her eyes flutter back in ecstasy.

Shaking his head slightly to remove that image, Percy continued to assess Annabeth's appearance. She was wearing the same ripped black jeans and beaten up converse as last night. Her tight black T-shirt (Death to Barbie? What had Barbie ever done to her?) was slightly too short for her athletic frame, revealing her gloriously toned, tanned stomach. Was that a tattoo on her hip? Tattoos had never really been Percy's thing, but on Annabeth it was undeniably sexy. He wondered if she had any others hiding under her clothing and if he'd ever get to find out.

It was official, Percy was turning into a creepy pervert. He was not normally like this honestly. If anything Percy was a gentleman. He always valued personality over looks because what was the point spending time with someone, no matter how good looking they were, if you couldn't stand their personality?

Since meeting Annabeth, though, everything was different. She was the complete package. Percy wanted to know everything about her, like what her favourite colour was, what type of films she enjoyed watching, what was her favourite childhood memory and if she could do one thing before she died, what would it be. Percy thought he could be happy spending a lifetime learning all about Annabeth. Yet he was still a straight male who was extremely attracted to her. Who wouldn't be, she's a goddess. So yes, Percy did want to know what Annabeth looked and felt like undressed. He was a single guy after all. Sue him – or rather don't, unless you wanted to sue for a half-eaten box of Cheerios and a bottle of blue food colouring. Percy Jackson was not a rich man.

Just as his imagination was running away from him, too focused on flashes from last night's dream, Annabeth looked up into his face. Their eyes locked again and the same powerful sensation as last night shot through Percy. He seriously could not stop staring.

 _Just say something Jackson!_ A voice inside his head screamed, his subconscious having apparently given up on the all so helpful pep talks and resorted to aggression instead – if at first pep doesn't succeed, shout, shout and shout. _It doesn't matter what it is, just say something. You look like a fucking tool standing there staring. Ask her how she is. Compliment her on yesterday's performance. Maybe you could even start with a good old fashioned hello. Hell, ask her what she thinks parrot tastes like! Ok, maybe not that one, but just say something. Anything._

"Hi Annabeth, you did promise you'd see me around."

 _Why did you say that?_ The aggressive voice in his head all but screamed at him, _do you ever think before opening your big mouth. She might think you are flirting._ _ **But I am flirting,**_ another voice chimed in. _Yes, but what if she doesn't like it? You are going to look too pushy and you are the world's worse flirt. Winking was an idiotic move as well! You do realise once you've started flirting you have to continue it right? You're fucked mate._ _ **Yep, can't argue with that. I'm screwed.**_

Percy wasn't sure when he'd developed a multiple personality disorder. It was seriously starting to annoy him.

All of those voices quietened down when a soft blush began to appear on Annabeth's neck – definitely his favourite feature. He automatically stopped his chastisement and mentally high fived himself. So Annabeth did notice the flirting and apparently she liked it. Go Percy!

Before Percy could get too ahead of himself, Bobby chose that moment to run up to his sister and grab hold of her. Percy couldn't help but feel a little pang of jealousy at that, especially when he saw a small smile appear on Annabeth's lips. What was wrong with him? He was jealous of a small boy who was happy to see his sister. That just screamed sad. Although Annabeth still looked angry at Bobby's disappearance, she pulled him into a tight one handed hug, her other hand being firmly clasped onto another small boy of similar age to Bobby. On closer inspection this new child looked like an identical replica of Bobby. His twin maybe?

"Don't you ever run off like that again," Annabeth said into Bobby's hair as he tried to squirm away, "Anything could've happened to you. I was seriously worried," for some reason at these words Annabeth looked slightly uncomfortable as if she wasn't accustomed to showing her emotions, "I mean I was worried what your mum would try to do with me if I'd lost you".

Annabeth pushed Bobby away slightly as she straightened up and let him stand with his clone (twin, whatever). She glanced Percy's way quickly before turning to address the two boys.

"Um, shall we go to the sharks now? Bobby, say thank you to Percy for helping you and then we'll go".

"Do you know Percy, Annabeth? How do you know him?" Bobby asked, looking between the two of them. Both adults blushed and wouldn't catch the other's eye, "Annabeth, Percy said he'd give us a tour and teach Mathew and me all about sharks so we can't leave him", Bobby continued not noticing the adult's discomfort and helpfully pointing to a tomato red Percy.

Percy didn't know what to do with himself, well apart from stand there like a complete idiot. He knew he should do something. Smile maybe? Nod along? Say something? He just couldn't think of anything to say. Every time Percy had been around Annabeth he lost the ability to function like a normal human being.

Annabeth was looking at him now, smiling. Gods her smile was striking, in a strangely challenging kind of way. If Percy wasn't finding speech difficult before, now he really couldn't talk at all. Even the angry voice in his head had gone silent. Great one smile from the woman and he was completely done for.

"Um yeah … um sharks. Yep, let's go sharks," Percy managed to stutter, nervously running his hand through his hair.

Annabeth was watching every movement of his, not saying a thing. A smirk replaced her previous smile and her stormy grey eyes grew brighter with mischief. Great she was laughing at him. Percy knew he should be annoyed however her blatant amusement at his pain was oddly attractive.

"Let's go sharks?" she asked, arching a perfectly shaped eye brow questionably. Percy couldn't help noticing how she ran her tongue along her bottom lip slightly when she smiled, "I'm sorry, was that English you were using? I'm not familiar with that dialect".

Pull yourself together Jackson. Just because an extremely hot woman is laughing at you is no excuse for you to fall apart. Just…

He completely lost his train of thought because Annabeth chose that moment to bite down on her lower lip, pulling it between her teeth, whilst never once breaking eye contact.

Percy gulped. He couldn't stop staring. All thoughts of acting suave and sophisticated flew from his mind. He could now only focus on her lips. More specifically, how he wished it was his own teeth pulling at her lower lip. Biting down on it and listening to the sounds she would make. He wondered if she would moan or sigh. Moan he thought, she definitely looked like she'd be a moaner. Gods, Percy hoped she was a moaner. At that moment he made a vow to every god out there that he would one day find out, even if it killed him. By the way Annabeth was now absentmindedly twirling a loose curl around her finger, it probably would.

Once again it was just Percy and Annabeth. It was as if the aquarium didn't exist anymore. Subconsciously he took a step towards her and she seemed to do the same. They were being pulled together by a force stronger than their own willpower like they were puppets being controlled by the goddess of love herself.

 _Oh come on Jackson_ , yay that aggressive voice was back, _it's called lust, not love. You want her, you don't want to marry her._ _ **Not yet anyway.**_

Love, lust, infatuation, whatever you wanted to call it, it was intense.

The two of them were so close now that Percy was able to analyse every feature of her face. He was pleased to see that her previously thought of flawless complexion was marred by a splattering of freckles across her neat little nose. This made her look more real, like she was in fact an actual person and not some figment of Percy's over active imagination. Percy noted that Annabeth's eyes were circled in dark rings, as if she didn't get much sleep the night before. Well that makes the two of them he thought, wondering if she had been kept awake by the same thoughts as he.

The more Percy stared into Annabeth's eyes the deeper he felt like he was falling. The bright spark that he'd seen a few minutes ago had all but disappeared, the silver clouds being replaced with black hurricane vortexes as her pupils dilated with lust.

With his own darkening eyes fixed on hers, Percy didn't realise how his body was leaning forwards, closing the gap between himself and Annabeth and she was doing the same. Annabeth's lips parted slightly as her head tilted up towards his own. Percy couldn't have stopped himself even if he wanted to (for the record he didn't, he wasn't sure if he'd made that clear yet). He just had to kiss her. Sod that he was working and kissing on the job was the epitome of unprofessional behaviour (except if he was a male prostitute, then kissing on the job would surely be encouraged. Not that prostitution was a career move that he'd ever considered. Although the money was meant to be good … focus Jackson!). Ever since last night Percy had wanted to kiss Annabeth, well okay he'd wanted to do a hell of a lot more, but kissing was always a good start.

Without caution he took a step forward, closing the gap between them completely. If he inhaled at the same time as Annabeth their bodies would be touching. Slowly, Percy raised a hand to reach towards Annabeth, wanting to pull her even closer. She tilted towards his outstretched hand, eyes beginning to close …

"Annabeth!" screamed one of the twins at her side.

The bubble popped.

The background noise of hundreds of happy aquarium visitors came very much into the foreground again.

It wasn't only Percy and Annabeth alone in their own private bubble anymore. It was Percy, Annabeth, a pair of identical eight year old boys and a couple of hundred other people in an echoing tourist attraction. Not quite the same really.

Wait a minute, it wasn't Percy, Annabeth, a pair of identical eight year old boys and the other lot. There was just one twin standing awkwardly at Annabeth' side, wringing his hands as if he hadn't been sure if he should disturb his older sister or not.

Percy watched as Annabeth shook her head slightly and blinked, trying to clear her mind. She gazed down at her little brother, confusion written all over her face. The look of bewilderment didn't last for long however as she took a deep breath, eyes narrowing in anger.

"For fuck sake! That little…" without finishing her sentence Annabeth grabbed the hand of the boy who was unfortunate enough to have stayed to break the news and stalked off in search of his twin, muttering obscenities under her breath.

It took Percy a few seconds to realise he didn't know what to do. What was the etiquette when the woman you were about to kiss swears at the top of her voice and marches off to murder her younger brother? Do you follow her and assist in the brutal killing? Stand at her side and offer encouragement? Or, do you stay put and hope she will find her way back?

Why didn't school teach you how to deal with these situations?

Without thinking, Percy fled in pursuit. He had after all offered to help Bobby with his school project. It would be rude of him to renege on such a promise now. Surely it went against the code of all Sea Life Centre employee ethics to ignore a child's desire for knowledge. Percy's actions were completely unselfish and professional. He was chasing after Annabeth because it was his duty as an employee of the Sea Life Centre. There was no other reason.

Fortunately for Annabeth (and Percy, his dehydrated and hungover body was not up to endurance running. He was more of a sprinter) Bobby hadn't got that far. Rounding the next corner Percy stopped in his tracks, staring at the scene in front of him. Annabeth was down on one knee, steely grey eyes level with Bobby's own brown ones. She wasn't touching the child or shouting at him, in fact she wasn't saying anything at all. Annabeth didn't need to. The glare she was giving the child was bad enough.

It was a deadly glare, like a predator stalking its prey. Percy was beginning to feel sorry for the boy. Yes, he had run away from his sister twice now and yes in both instances he had caused her to panic but no one deserved to be at the receiving end of such a look.

"I'm going to kill you!" Annabeth spoke with iron like surety.

Bobby continued to stare at his sister, trying to bluff but Percy could see the worry lines forming on his forehead and the slight downwards turn of his lips.

Annabeth was analysing her brother's reactions and wicked look crossed her face like she had thought of an even more damming punishment.

"Actually, no, I'm not going to kill you," Annabeth said, still not breaking eye contact with Bobby, "See that wouldn't teach you anything now would it? Death is the easy way out. No, what I have in mind is going to be even worse. By the end, you will be begging for a way out!"

Bobby continued to stand his ground. Percy had to give it to the kid, he really had some gall. Even he, who had been expelled from more schools than he cared to remember, would be a gibbering mess under such a menacing glare.

"No, you see Bobby, I'm a merciful older sister. It's my duty to help you on your way in life. So, here's what I'm going to do," Annabeth moved and straightened her back, looking more intimidating than ever, "I'm going to stand up in a minute and offer you my hand. You are going to take my hand and hold on tight. Then we are going to walk to the sharks together, side by side, until we reach our destination".

Percy watched as Bobby's eyes grew wide in disbelieve, surely he wasn't going to get off that easily?

Then Annabeth's lips twitched, her smile becoming pure evil.

"Yes, that's all. That should teach you," She stood up, her slender frame towering above Bobby, hand outstretched for Bobby to take. When Bobby's hand slid inside her own she smiled down at him, "Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. I'm going to skip the whole way to the shark exhibition and sing Disney songs at the top of my voice. I expect you to join in".

At that Annabeth pulled Bobby along, skipping like a five year old and singing Disney's "Under the Sea" loud enough to attract a lot of attention along the way. Bobby's face was bright red as he was forced to join in.

A ripple of laughter escaped Percy's mouth. That was amazing! Annabeth was amazing. What better way to punish a child like Bobby, who was independent and reckless, than to embarrass him? It was pure genius.

As soon as his impromptu laughing fit had died down, Percy was once again at a loose end. Should he follow Annabeth and Bobby or just get back to work. To be honest getting back to work seemed like a good plan, it was what he was paid for after all. How long had it been since Bobby first found him? Fifteen minutes maybe? Half and an hour? It would be almost time for his shift to finish then he could head off out in search of blue food. Percy glanced down at his watch and noted that he did in fact only have forty minutes left until his shift ended. Under normal circumstances he would spend the remaining hour patrolling the corridors, making sure all visitors were taken care of as well as visiting each tank to check on the water quality and levels. Yet today, he just couldn't bring himself to do that. It wasn't like he was the only worker on this shift, sometimes he needed to take a step back and let the others pick up the slack for once.

All of these thoughts were running through Percy's head when he was disturbed by a small cough at his side. Surprised, he looked down into the face of Bobby Chase. Wait no, not Bobby, he was currently running through the halls of the aquarium singing like a member of the Brady Bunch. This was his twin, um what's his name. The boy was looking extremely uncomfortable, obviously not happy with being left by his brother and sister. That nervous little face made the decision for Percy. He was going to follow Annabeth, again.

"So, shall we go after them?" Percy smiled at the boy, who gave him a shy little smile in return.

With a small nod, he placed his hand in Percy's as they both walked after the skipping and singing trio.

Percy heard her before he saw her. The cavernous shark room, where you could usually hear shouting and screaming, sometimes even crying, was filled with the melodies sounds of Annabeth's voice. Percy stopped in his tracks. Her voice was purely phenomenal (that smarmy prick Luke sure knew how to describe it). Percy wasn't the only one staring, the crowd of visitors that would usually be gawping at the sharks were all focused on Annabeth and her amazing singing.

Self-consciously, Annabeth was leaning against the side of the shark tank, completely unaffected by the huge sand tiger shark staring straight at her. She was absentmindedly strumming her fingers on her thigh whilst singing "Part of your world" from The Little Mermaid. Although she was clearly a talented singer, she wasn't comfortable at all. Percy gazed at her, noting the tightness of her shoulders and the creases forming on her forehead. Just like with her performance last night, she was singing with her eyes closed, like a child hiding behind her hands. If I can't see you, you can't see me.

"Bobby, I can't hear you!" she stopped singing and turned towards her brother who was glaring in the corner, as far away from his sister as possible. One look from his sister though wiped that look off his face and he reluctantly joined in with the chorus.

When the song finally ended Annabeth pushed herself off the side of the tank and walked towards Bobby, completely unaware of the captivated audience that had gathered around her.

"Right, I've had enough of singing. You look like you've been punished enough. You can stop now," she said to a bright red faced Bobby, "It's not like I can think of any more fucking Disney songs anyway," she muttered under her breath.

"Oh don't stop now, I was hoping you'd break out into a rendition of "Let it go!" Percy said, leaning over Annabeth's shoulder. He secretly inhaled the fresh lemony scent of her hair. Not being a creepy pervert at all.

Startled, Annabeth spun around to face Percy, who was standing a lot closer to her than was normally considered polite in society. She looked into Percy's smiling face and broke into a smile of her own.

"I can just see you as an Elsa," Percy continued, pleased to see that light blush appear on Annabeth's neck, "Although this outfit you're sporting doesn't quite scream ice queen to me. What did Barbie ever do to you anyway?"

"Oh you know, the usual. All I ever wanted was to be just like Barbie, but society just puts way to many pressures on a girl. I was never good enough," Annabeth responded, an emotional quiver to her voice. At the incredulous look on Percy's face she snickered, "Um, the top belongs to my friend Thalia, I have no idea what her issue with Barbie is. All I know is it goes back a long, long way".

Her laughter was infectious and Percy couldn't help but laugh along. Realising he was looming over Annabeth he took a step back and leant against the tank, turning to face her again. Annabeth mirrored his stance, her shoulder lightly bumping into his own.

"So.." they both said at the same time. Percy blushed a deep shade of red while Annabeth smiled widely, indicating for him to continue.

Percy took a gulp of air and continued talking before he lost the nerve. He knew he should've been gentlemanly and let Annabeth talk, but he couldn't.

"Um, do you fancy grabbing lunch with me? My shift finishes in forty minutes," he said, nervously rubbing at the back of his neck.

Annabeth looked stunned, as if she wasn't expecting Percy to ask her out.

Shit, shit, shit. You read it wrong, mate. She isn't interested in you at all. All of the voices inside Percy's head seemed to be screaming at him all at once.

"Oh, um I would really love to," Annabeth said, looking into Percy's face. Yep, she was letting him down gently.

"Yeah, um, forget it. You're probably busy," Percy stuttered, taking a step back.

"That's not it," Annabeth said, stepping closer to Percy, "I'm meant to be teaching the twins about sharks. Well, no, you are meant to be teaching them about sharks actually. Come on Percy, you can't let me down". She reached a hand out to poke Percy in the chest to emphasise her words.

Percy gulped. He'd stopped breathing. He just stared down at the hand on his chest.

"So, how about you tell them everything you know about sharks, and then we go out to lunch. As long as you don't mind a couple of eight year olds tagging along".

She shot him another winning smile. How could Percy refuse?

"Well I'd be delighted to spend time with such a delinquent older sister as yourself," at that, Percy pushed himself off the tank and walked over to the twins. He shot Annabeth a cheeky smirk over his shoulder and couldn't help congratulating himself at the stunned look on Annabeth's face.

Yep, lunch was going to be fun.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hi, I really appologise with the huge wait for this chapter. Life just really got in the way I guess. Thank you so much for all the positive support for this story so far. I can't believe how many people have favoured it and followed it. Thank you very much for the reviews as well. It is all really appreciated.**

 **So I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

 **Annabeth's POV**

Annabeth stood back and watched Percy while he taught the twins all about Sharks. She would've liked to think that at that moment she was acting like a suave, sophisticated woman. She would like to think that his asking her out wasn't affecting her in the slightest. That it would purely act as a way of relieving boredom for the rest of the day. That's it, she didn't have any plans for the rest of her day and she did need to eat lunch anyway. So it really did make sense really to accept his offer, if only for the practicalities of it.

Oh who was she kidding? At that moment Annabeth's inner fangirl was jumping up and down with joy, flinging her arms out in a victory dance.

He had asked her out! He wanted to go out for lunch. Percy, the tall, muscular Greek God that he was, wanted to spend time with her. Annabeth. Plain, boring, Annabeth Chase. She couldn't believe it, couldn't fathom how it was even possible that such a man would be interested in her. It was pure insanity.

Oh my gods, the way he had sounded so nervous and looked so cute when he anxiously rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. It was adorable. He was a god among men and he was nervous to ask Annabeth, a mere mortal woman, with mortal flaws, out on a date - could it be classed as a date if she was dragging along her little brothers. It'd been a while since she'd been on a date, but she was pretty sure it wasn't normal. Hmm she'd have to ask Silena later.

But the point is, Percy was insane to be nervous!

Oh, wait, maybe that is it, maybe Percy actually was insane. Why else would he be interested in her? Did she really want to spend time with an insane person? Even if the person in question did look like a modern day Adonis. Was it really worth her time?

YES! the small, romantic fangirl inside her screamed.

Oh who was Annabeth kidding, with looks like his and a body to match, he could be as mad as a hatter and she would still want him. She would gladly join Percy for tea any day!

Okay, fangirl fantasies aside, insane or not, Annabeth wanted to get to know Percy. She was normally pretty good at reading people so she was almost positive that Percy was not insane, a little odd perhaps, maybe be had a few strange quirks, but he wasn't insane. That must mean that he actually wanted to spend time with her. Why else would be have asked her out to lunch?

Think logically Annabeth, what reasons could Percy have to want to spend time with you?

Right, so Annabeth knew she wasn't ugly. In fact if she was being honest with herself, she was aware that she was far from ugly. According to many, men and women alike, she was very attractive. Yet Annabeth never felt that about herself.

 _That's because you're not supposed to be attracted to yourself, Narcissus!_

Fine, the not being attracted to oneself put aside, Annabeth always worried about her appearance. She was too tall for one. In theory there was nothing wrong with being tall. Super models, who were considered by many to be the pure definition of beauty, were tall – Annabeth had done her fair share of modelling in the past and could've gone pro if it wasn't for her ADHD and the complete boredom she found in the job. Yet, even though super models were tall, most men only find them attractive from afar, they often have a problem with women being the same height, or indeed, taller than them. Even Luke, who was a tall man himself, was only slightly taller than Annabeth. But Percy, he was very tall, taller than herself. It would never be a problem wearing heels next to him.

 _When do you ever wear heals?_ a small voice at the back of her mind asked.

 **I might wear heals one day you know. I am a girl after all,** another voice countered.

 _Yep you'll wear heals the day Hades freezes over!_

Great, well it looked like Annabeth was developing a multiple personality disorder now. Maybe she was the insane one and not Percy. Oohh, if they were both certifiably insane they might even be put away in an asylum together. Annabeth really wouldn't mind sharing a padded cell with Percy, oh the fun they could get up t in one of them …

Thoughts of the not so innocent nature began to swarm Annabeth's mind. Hmm, Percy pushed against a padded floor with her on top, straddling his hips. Or, Annabeth with her back flush against a wall, legs secured around Percy's waist while he set an attack down her neck and collarbone with his lips…

Mmm…now what was it she had been thinking about again?

That was the worst thing about having ADHD in Annabeth's opinion. She could cope with the nervous energy and hyperactivity – that was what the guitar was for. It was the mental hyperactivity that she always found difficult. She could be focusing on one thing, then a thought would cross her mind, completely changing her train of thought.

Ten seconds of hyper bi-polar thought processes later and she had no idea where she had started from.

 _You were complaining about your looks,_ the helpful voice at the back of her head chimed in. Maybe voices in the head weren't too bad after all.

Yes, right, so Annabeth was too tall for most guys, which normally put them off. But her height wasn't the only thing she worried about.

Annabeth spent her life surrounded by gorgeous women; her best friends, housemates, well her family really, were all stunning. Take Silena for instance, she is drop dead gorgeous with her long, straight black hair and petite figure. She's everything a man could wish for. Beckendorf was one lucky guy. Then there is Thalia, sure she is intimidating with her ripped leather and piercings, but she has the most amazing electric blue eyes set into a pale pixie face. Then you have Katie, a modern day Snow White, clear milky white skin, rosy cheeks and dark, wavy curls. And finally Clarisse, well she is… think Annabeth, what is Clarisse like? She is… strong… nope that's not a compliment, she is sturdy? Nope, not much better. Ok then there is Clarisse, she is just Clarisse.

So really when surrounded by those girls, day in, day out, Annabeth couldn't be blamed for being paranoid about her looks.

Deep in thought Annabeth found herself staring at Percy while he taught the twins everything he knew about their favourite animals. He really was good with the boys. They were clinging onto his every word. It brought a smile to Annabeth's face to see how happy her little brothers were and it wasn't just because of the huge deadly sea creatures they were ogling at, it was because of Percy. So not only was he cute and good looking, he was also great with kids. Hmm, good to know.

 _Now wait just one second Annabeth, where the hell is your mind going here? Why are you thinking about kids and Percy in the same thought? You've only met him, you want to shag him, not have kids with him!_

 **I do not want to shag him!** another part of Annabeth's psyche protested, having apparently only focused on that part of the monologue.

 _Yeah sure, you've only been staring at his body for the past ten minutes for artistic reasons, right? Not because you were wondering what it would feel like to be pinned down by those strong arms, or how he would taste as you ran your tongue along his abs? No, not all Chase._

 **Well in my defence it's been a while,** the second voice countered.

 _Call three weeks ago a while?_ That first voice was relentless.

 **Oh shut up!**

Multiple personality disorders were apparently exhausting. Annabeth could feel her mind and body shutting down as she stood there. Although hours had passed since waking, and with them the feeling of nausea was abating, she still felt exhausted. Her whole body felt weak, while her brain was turning to mush. She was almost 100% certain that it was the solid wall behind her and not herself that was keeping her body upright. Oh, how she longed to curl up in her nice, soft bed to sleep for days. At least she didn't have work tonight that was one small blessing.

As soon as the Wicked Witch of the West, or Susan as her step mother preferred to be called, came to collect the boys, Annabeth would make a bee line for her room. She had a hot date planned with her plush, goose down duvet and matching pillows. She may even indulge in a threesome with a certain Ben and Jerry. What more could a girl ask for?

With these thoughts of sleep. Annabeth felt her eye lids droop. The dull lighting in this place really wasn't helping either. How did Percy manage to work here? She'd be asleep on the job all the time. Well, what harm could a couple of minutes with closed eyes do? It would only be a couple of minutes, or 120 seconds. That was nothing really. Even Bobby couldn't get into that much trouble in such a small time frame.

"You look like you're suffering," a voice said close to Annabeth. She slowly opened her eyes to peer at a relaxed Percy, leaning against the wall with her.

They were close enough to touch. And no, Annabeth's shoulder did not tingle at the contact. Not at all. Not one bit. Okay, maybe it did just a bit. A tiny bit. Fine, a lot.

"Well anyone who downs ten flaming sambuccas in a row is going to feel like shit," Percy continued, wriggling his eyes brows at her. She couldn't help noticing how cute he looked when doing that. It really wasn't helping with her growing adolescent crush.

"10 flaming sambuccas? Who was stupid enough to do that?" she scoffed, glad that even she wasn't that much of an idiot.

Percy turned towards Annabeth with an incredulous look upon his face which Annabeth couldn't figure out. Why was he looking at her like that? Was it him that had drunk that much last night? Oh, had she just insulted him? Crap, it was just like her to open her big mouth without thinking. How to get out of this one?

Just as Annabeth was thinking up her apology, Percy spoke again. This time with a clear smirk in his voice.

"Um, that would be you," he said "To be honest, I'm not surprised you can't remember, you were pretty pissed by that point."

It was now Annabeth's turn to raise an eye brow and smirk, "Somebody sounds like they were paying a lot of attention last night. A tad stalkerish don't you think?" She pushed herself off the wall and stepped away from Percy, while keeping her eyes locked on his.

"I, um.. er, no… I wasn't staring," Percy stammered, his cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink. Annabeth continued to stare at him, taking great pleasure in his growing discomfort. Gods, even when embarrassed he was still ridiculously hot.

"So if you weren't staring, how do you know what I drank last night?" Annabeth countered, turning away from Percy as she approached the twins.

"Fine, I was staring, but it's not my fault you're hot!"

That did it, Annabeth was so surprised that she stopped in her tracks. That was one thing she was not expecting Percy to say. She didn't know what to say to that. Her inner fangirl was currently performing celebratory cartwheels. He thinks she's hot! This god of a man thinks she is hot!

 _Okay, calm down Chase. Act coy, no one wants to see you revert back to being a teenager, it wasn't pretty the first time round. Be cool, smooth and sophisticated._

Annabeth peered over her shoulder, looking straight into those sea green eyes, "Right back at you!" she said, continuing her walk towards the boys, "So you said something about lunch?"

* * *

 **Percy's POV**

It was a fifteen minute walk from the Sea Life Centre to Grover's café. At first Percy was worried that it would be an uncomfortable because, sure he and Annabeth had chatted a bit by the shark tank, but they didn't really know one another. Would they have anything to talk about or would they just be stuck in an awkward, never ending silence?

Oh, Percy Jackson, why did you ask her out? And while we're on this subject, why, oh why did you call her hot? This is going to be an uncomfortable lunch, you idiot.

Percy couldn't have been more wrong. From the moment the four of them stepped into "The Lord of the Wild", the conversation just flowed. Annabeth was so easy to talk to and as cliché as it sounds, it was as if they had been friends for years. As they chatted over their super food salads and smoothies, Percy learnt so much about Annabeth. She was twenty four like himself, her birthday being a month before his. Not only could she play the guitar, she was competent on the piano and the bass. She loved music but couldn't name her favourite band because there were just too many of them. Annabeth loved architect and was currently studying to pursue a career in that field, although she admitted she had years left of studying before that dream could ever be made a reality. Percy wasn't sure why though as Annabeth seemed like the most intelligent person he had met. Not only was she in a popular band, playing at least 3 gigs a week, she also worked as a barrister in a local coffee shop and as a shop assistant in a book shop. Gods she was busy! Annabeth said she lived with a large group of friends and had been with them for years.

Percy was fascinated with her life and wanted to learn everything about her, however every time their conversation veered towards family or her child hood she would become uncomfortable and change the subject. Not wanting to push her, Percy shared stories from his life. Annabeth was a great listener. She seemed genuinely interested in Percy and laughed freely at all his stupid stories.

This really was the best date/non date he had ever had.

"What's with the blue?" Annabeth asked, staring at Percy's blue peach smoothie, "Last I checked peaches were, well, peach. Not blue".

"Um yeah, I like blue," Percy replied, rubbing at the back of his neck, "Things just taste better that way".

"Okay, that obviously makes perfect sense. Although bright blue peach kinda goes against the natural organic vibe this place has going for it doesn't it?" Annabeth said, her lips turning up in a grin.

"Yep, blue food colouring, a perk of being the owner's best friend! Grover keeps saying he'll stop buying it, but he loves me too much for that," Percy said, flashing Annabeth a winning smile. At least he thought it was a winning smile, it may have looked like an insane grimace. Oh gods, what if she actually thought he was insane. Maybe blue drinks were too much for her? At least he hadn't requested a blue sandwich like last time he was here, he at least needed to save some of his weirdness for the second date.

Wait, was this a date? Could it be considered a date? Gods, Percy didn't know.

"So why don't you drink something that is actually blue?" Annabeth persisted.

"Like what? What is really blue?"

Annabeth had to think about that one. She scrunched her nose in such an adorable way when thinking, Percy just wanted to kiss her, "Um, blueberries?"

"Nope, not blue!" Percy said with a smile, he was an expert on these things after all.

"Yes they are, that's why they're called blueberries!" Annabeth argued, her grey eyes blazing.

"Nah ah! They're just masquerading as blue cos blue is the coolest!"

Annabeth giggled at that.

 _Score Jackson, you made her laugh!_

Percy and Annabeth were engrossed in a conversation about blue beer (apparently Annabeth had never tried it, something Percy was keen to rectify) that Percy forgot the twins were even present. For the past half hour they'd been happily occupied with colouring in at the end of the table – Grover had an amazing collection of Greek mythology themed colouring books. But alas, even images of satyrs hiding from Cyclopes weren't enough to occupy the eight year olds for long, they were soon clambering for attention from the adults.

"Annabeth," one of twins (Mathew maybe, or it could be Bobby. Why did they have to be exact clones of each other?) said, poking his sister in the ribs for good measure when she continued to ignore him (Bobby, Percy thought, definitely Bobby), "Annabeth!"

"What?" the woman in question snapped, turning her attention away from Percy towards her younger brother. Hey, no fair, Percy wanted to scream. He'd been enjoying Annabeth's attention.

"Well, me and Mathew were wondering," Bobby said, flashing a devious smile at his sister and Percy, "when are you and Luke gonna get married?"

Caught off guard Annabeth spluttered, choking on her coffee. She began coughing with eyes blown wide, staring in disbelief at her younger sibling.

"Um, what?" she managed to stutter, after composing herself a little bit, "We aren't getting married Bobby. Why would you ever think we would get married?"

Throughout this exchange Percy just stared at Annabeth, gaging her reaction. Last night he had wondered at her and Luke's relationship, they did seem very close after all. A small part of him even thought that they made quite an attractive couple. Both being tall and blond, with striking model like features. Although Luke wasn't that tall, he was only a couple of centimetres taller than Annabeth. Annabeth needed a taller man. Percy was taller and dark. Didn't they always say light always complimented dark? Yes, he and Annabeth would make a very attractive couple, even if he did think so himself. Yep, he and Annabeth would look very good together.

Percy's mind started to wonder again. What was it he was meant to be focusing on? Oh yes, Annabeth and Luke. That was it.

They couldn't be a couple, Percy thought, Annabeth was having lunch with him, not Luke. Why would she accept an invitation from Percy if she was already seeing someone else? Sure, it wasn't like they were on a real date, in the traditional sense of the term, who brings a couple of eight year old chaperones on a date? No, it was more of a lunch between friends. Were they even friends though? Could you call it a friendship? They had only known each other for less than twenty four hours after all. They were more acquaintances, really, than friends. Maybe Percy was reading too much into the situation. He was so deep in thought that he almost missed Bobby's response.

"Oh, well we just thought you would be, that's all," Bobby said innocently. A little too innocently for Percy's liking. He was starting to suspect that the little boy was up to something.

"No Bobby, Luke and I are just friends. Whatever gave you the impression we would be getting married?" Annabeth replied, calmly regaining her composure.

Just friends! Percy internally performed a small victory dance at those words. A very manly victory dance, obviously. It certainly didn't involve any twirls or prances. No, definitely not. Nope.

"Oh well," Bobby flashed a look of pure devilish cunning at Percy, he'd make an amazing movie villain Percy mused, "It's just that mummy and daddy are married and they sleep in the same bed. So when we saw Luke in your bed this morning, we just thought that maybe you two would be getting married as well".

It was Percy's turn to splutter and choke on his drink this time. His eyes widened at Bobby's words. Annabeth and Luke had slept together last night? Bobby and Mathew were just innocent little boys and thought that implied marriage, however Percy was a somewhat experienced twenty four year old man and he knew what sleeping in the same bed meant. It usually didn't involve much sleeping. So he had been wrong all along, Annabeth and Luke were more than friends. That was that then. Percy had no chance with her now.

If Percy had been looking, he would have noticed the blood drain from Annabeth's usually tan face. She just stared at her little brother in shock, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted in a small o. A slight red blush was beginning to burn up her neck and colour her white cheeks. Percy turned towards her, eyes scanning her own and begging for answers.

He needed an explanation, to at least hear her side of the story. Although judging from her reaction, an explanation wasn't really needed. Annabeth had slept with Luke last night. It was as simple as that.

Percy didn't know why he felt so hurt. It's not as if Annabeth was his girlfriend after all. They had only met last night. Really they had barely exchanged a few sentences when he came to think about it. However he had sworn that in those precious moments they had spent together yesterday, that there had been a connection. Hadn't Annabeth been blatantly flirting with him outside in the alley? She'd ran her hand up his thigh and whispered in his ear so seductively. Well maybe that was just the sort of person Annabeth was, Percy thought ruefully, she was a flirt. She probably flirted with all the men at her gigs. Probably revelled in the attention she got from it.

No, Percy, how can you think that? You saw her when she was singing, you saw that glimpse of vulnerability. Those were not the actions of a confident player. You saw how she always averted her eyes from the audience, how she preferred to stay in the shadows of the stage. Unnoticeable. Anonymous. And what about today, his mind continued to argue. You and Annabeth had almost kissed! Annabeth wasn't acting like a woman in a relationship, nor was she acting like a woman cheating on her boyfriend.

Percy was just confused. In all honestly, it didn't take much.

Maybe Bobby was mistaken, maybe he had seen Luke asleep in his own bed and mistaken it for Annabeth's. That was an easy mistake to make, especially for a boy who didn't often visit his sister's house. Yes, that must be it, Bobby and Mathew had walked into the wrong room by mistake. Annabeth's room was probably next door to Luke's. Did Annabeth even live with Luke? She had mentioned living with friends, whether that included Luke or not, Percy was unsure. Percy knew that his mind was clutching at straws at the moment, yet his heart hadn't given up on Annabeth.

He continued looking at Annabeth, waiting for her to say something. Slowly, her lips started to move in response to Bobby's question, yet her focus was completely on Percy. Her stormy grey eyes bore into his own confused ones as she spoke.

"Yes, Luke was in my bed Bobby, but that doesn't mean we are going to get married or that we are even together in a relationship. Last night I got a bit drunk and Luke had to carry me home. We crashed out on my bed because neither of us were that sober, so we fell asleep straight away. That's it".

Annabeth's eyes bore deeper into Percy's, trying to convey her honesty. Percy believed her, he didn't know why, he just did.

"Oh yeah, we thought it was weird that he was asleep on top of your duvet with his boots and jacket still on. Mummy and Daddy never go to bed with their outside clothes on," Bobby said gleefully, turning his attention away from the two adults and back to Mathew, who had remained silent throughout.

Annabeth and Percy sat staring at each other in silence, eyes unblinking. The tension caused by Bobby's little episode was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Percy watched Annabeth, who was trying to regain her composure. Her previously rapid breathing was beginning to slow down, becoming deeper and less ragged. Percy watched her chest rise up and down as her breathing became steadier. He knew he should say something to break the ice, but he didn't know what. Percy was never good in these situation, so he just continued to stare at the rise and fall of Annabeth's breasts as she continued to control her breathing.

He was officially back under Annabeth's spell.

 _Stop staring, you pervert!_ The angry voice in his head screamed. Oh great, apparently Percy's multiple personality disorder wasn't just a result of a hungry, hungover mind. Maybe he should visit a psychiatrist or something, this was actually getting quite worrying. _Are you purposefully trying to make her feel uncomfortable? Stop staring and say something!_

"So…" Percy started.

"Luke and I…" Annabeth said at the same time.

They both grinned nervously at each other and Percy gestured for Annabeth to continue.

"Um, well, Luke and I are just friends," Annabeth looked at Percy with slightly pleading eyes.

"Annabeth, you don't have to explain yourself to me," Percy responded, honestly. He honestly didn't need an explanation. He believed her.

"No, um, I want you to understand. So, Luke and I are friends. We've known each other for a really long time, he's the closest person to me really, well apart from Thalia," Percy had no idea who Thalia was, but he didn't think now was the best time to ask. He watched in complete adoration at Annabeth's nervously fidgeting hands, unable to keep them still. Force of habit of a guitarist or an ADHD quirk? Either one, it was really cute.

"So in the past Luke and I were something more than friends, I guess. Not in a relationship as such, well not a conventional relationship anyway. We've never been exclusive or anything. We, um…" Annabeth trailed off nervously.

"You were fuck buddies?" Percy blurted out.

Shit, stupid impulsive ADHD. Percy mentally chastised himself. Why did her have to blurt that out? Yes, that did sound like what Annabeth had been alluding to, but Fuck Buddies? Seriously Jackson, what is your problem? Why couldn't you have called it friends with benefits or something?

Instead of blushing and turning away like he expected her to, Annabeth looked straight at Percy and burst into laughter.

"Yep. Fuck buddies. That just about sums it up really," she said, smirking, "Luke and I were fuck buddies but now we are not".

She said the last five words slowly, emphasising each and every one.

"Good," it was the only honest response Percy could come up with.

"Good," Annabeth repeated, her smile widening even more, "Just in case you were interested, I'm single. 100% single," she bit down on her lower lip suggestively.

"Just what I wanted to hear," it came out huskier than Percy was expecting. He leant into Annabeth across the table. His eyes darting between her eyes and lips. Annabeth seemed to be doing the same thing. She raised an eye brow in challenge, waiting for Percy to make the first move.

Percy Jackson might be a blithering idiot at times, he might be slow on the uptake when it came to the opposite sex, but Percy Jackson always accepted a challenge.

With a burst of courage that he didn't know he possessed, Percy reached across and gently placed his hands on Annabeth's neck, guiding her perfect, red lips across towards his own awaiting ones …

"Well all you motherfuckers, criminals will be suckers,

If you don't step aside for David Courtney,

Well all you motherfuckers, criminals will be suckers,

If you don't step aside for David Courtney!"

If there was ever a song to ruin a romantic moment, Rancid's "David Courtney" was it. Annabeth and Percy both stopped as the song came blaring out of Annabeth's jacket pocket. It was so loud that everyone in the tiny café had turned towards the couple, identical looks of disgust plastered across their faces. Although Percy was unsure if it was the song or the fact that Annabeth and Percy's lips were millimetres apart, a strong aura of lust surrounding them, which was the problem.

"Oh fuck!" Annabeth cried, pulling her face away from Percy and focusing on searching through her jacket pocket, "I'm going to murder those Stolls!"

Percy had no idea who, or what, the Stolls were, but if they were the reason for another interrupted kiss, he would gladly join Annabeth in the killing. What was that now, twice they had been interrupted? No, three times, if you counted their moment in the alley last night. Rachel had walked in on them then, if she hadn't, who knew what would have happened.

Were they ever going to catch a break?

Cheeks colouring a bright shade of red, Annabeth finally located her phone and accepted the call. Thankfully, the ring tone stopped and Grover's quiet vegetarian customers could resume their discussion about bean curd and tofu, or whatever they had been talking about.

"What?" Annabeth snapped into her phone, "Oh, Silena, it's you. Hey, so what do you want? … No, I'm not working tonight, why?... No, I'm not on a date either, where did you get that idea from?... Whatever Thalia said is a lie, don't listen to her!" a slight blush appeared on Annabeth's exposed neck (still one of Percy's favourite features).

Had Annabeth been talking about him to her friends, Percy wondered?

While Annabeth glared at the phone in her hand, Percy pulled out his own. It would be weird if he just sat there staring at her as she talked. Percy had five texts on his phone, one from his mum asking how his week had been, another from Dominoes advertising their latest deals and three from Rachel. Percy didn't want to focus on them, especially after last night. He knew he needed to speak to Rachel but not now, not when he was happy with Annabeth. So putting his phone back in his jeans pocket, Percy returned his attention to Annabeth.

"Why do you want to know if I'm free? What do you want? … Of course you want something Sil, I know you. … Well yes, I guess you could just be calling out of curiosity, although that would be odd. Just spit it out… Okay, yes, I'm free tonight, I guess".

At these words Annabeth raised her head and looked at Percy. Shit, should he have asked her out already? Is that what she was expecting? Percy was so bad at reading women, hadn't he completely read the situation with Rachel wrong last night? Don't focus on that now Jackson, he told himself, focus on the issue at hand. Right, yes, Annabeth! Yes, he had been thinking about asking her out on a date tonight, he did really want to spend more time with her. Yes, he guessed they were sort of on a date at the moment, however he was kind of thinking it would be nice to spend time with Annabeth alone. Without the twin brothers in tow.

Come to think about it, where were the boys? The end of their table had become suspiciously quiet all of a sudden. Percy glanced around the café apprehensively as panic started to build up inside. He couldn't help feeling worried over what new mischief Bobby would have managed to find. That child was a law upon himself. A quick scan of his surroundings found both boys sitting quietly at the counter, engrossed in conversation with Grover. Grover caught Percy's worried expression and smiled, indicating that the boys were fine with him. Relieved, Percy turned his attention back to Annabeth, who was still engaged in her phone call.

"Nope, can't tonight, sorry… Can't you get Thalia to do it? Why do you need me? … Oh yeah, I forgot about that, I'm surprised she was let off with just a caution to be honest," Percy didn't mean to eavesdrop but this conversation was just too interesting, "No Sil, just because I'm not working or on a date doesn't mean I want to do it… I was planning on going out with Thalia and the others tonight… No, I do not owe you one… No Sil, that debt was paid last week remember? … Yes, it was… Oh, of course you've conveniently forgotten but let me tell you I haven't. Letting your friend perform a Brazilian wax on yourself because she needs the practice for work, isn't something one forgets easily!"

Percy choked on his sip of smoothie. Choking on beverages was becoming a theme today. A Brazilian wax? He may be a mere male but Percy knew what one of those was and now he was imagining Annabeth… No, don't even go there Jackson. Instead he tried to turn his focus back to what Annabeth was saying.

"I did not scream like a little girl!" Annabeth declared, offended, "Well, okay, maybe I did scream a bit but it bloody well hurt! Don't you laugh at me Silena Beauregard! You almost ripped out my piercing in the process! That's why I screamed so much…"

Percy's mouth had gone dry. Piercing? First mentions of a Brazilian wax, now a piercing. That must mean… gods this woman just got better and better.

"No, it's not a stupid place to get pierced. I keep telling you, there are many, many benefits to it," Annabeth looked Percy straight on and winked.

That's it, I'm having a heart attack, he thought. At twenty four, I, Percy Jackson, am going to die of coronary failure all because of this amazing, beautiful woman in front of me. Let it be known that my gravestone should read: _Here lies Perseus Jackson, killed before his time due to unimaginable sexiness that is Annabeth Chase. Let his death be a warning to all men, Annabeth Chase is not one for the feint hearted._

"Fine, don't beg, I'll do it but I want fifty quid… No, not for the night, per hour… Hey, if that's too much to ask find someone else but like you said, who's more _flexible_ than me?" Percy couldn't help but notice the emphasis Annabeth put on the word flexible, he somehow didn't think she was referring to her timetabling capabilities.

"Yep, fine I'll be there… Yeah I get it, 8 o'clock… Yes Sil, I understand, yeah I'll make it there in time… Look, I've got hours… I do know how to tell the time you know… Oi, you can talk you have ADHD as well… No I don't get distracted more. I do not!... What do you mean it's already five," Annabeth half yelled in disbelief, "Fuck! Gotta go!... Oh shut up! Sil, don't force me to punch you, you know I will… Yes, I'm leaving now, see you. Bye!"

Annabeth shoved her phone into her pocket whilst simultaneously pulling her jacket on. She stood up, looking around for her younger brothers. When she spotted them, still chatting happily to Grover, she called them over and told them to get ready to leave. Percy was watching this activity, without moving himself. If he was being perfectly honest with himself, Annabeth's phone call had put him into a state of shock. Realising Annabeth was ready to leave, he clumsily pushed his chair back and stood up with her.

"So, I guess you need to leave?" he said, once again looking into her stormy grey eyes.

"Yes, I'm so sorry, that was my friend Silena, she needs a favour from me tonight," Annabeth replied, a look of regret appearing in her eyes.

"So I heard," Percy smirked, "Here, this is my number, text me or something sometime?" He swiped a pen off a passing waiter and wrote his mobile number on Annabeth's hand.

Annabeth smiled back at him, before grabbing the same pen and writing her own number on his hand. "Now you can text me or something sometime as well," she said, smirking at him.

Bobby and Mathew appeared at Annabeth's side, each struggling to pull their jackets on and fasten the zip. Annabeth bent down to help Bobby, whilst Percy did the same for Mathew. At least he thought it was Mathew, after spending a whole afternoon with the boys he still wasn't any better at distinguishing one from the other. He blamed the parents really. Why would you dress identical twins in identical outfits? It wasn't cute, it was damn right annoying. How is anyone meant to tell them apart?

Once both boys were suitably dressed for the light spring chill, Annabeth was ready to leave. She smiled up at Percy, thanking him for teaching the boys about sharks and for the lovely lunch. She gently pushed the boys forward until they both had thanked Percy as well, then she walked out of the door, clasping the hands of each boy, obviously not trusting Bobby to stay with her. Percy didn't blame her.

Percy had only had a chance to turn back towards their table when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned round to see Annabeth standing in front of him, cheeks flushed from running.

"I forgot to give you this," she said.

Before Percy could respond, Annabeth had grabbed the back of his neck and moved his head down to her level. In an instant her lips crashed into Percy's own. For a split second he didn't move, too shocked at what was happening, but then Percy's brain kicked into gear and he responded to her kiss. And Gods did he respond! Percy placed his hands on Annabeth's hips, pulling her towards himself, until he could feel every curve of her body pressed against his own muscular one. Annabeth pushed a hand through Percy's thick, black hair messing it up even more, whilst her other hand pulled at the shaggy hair at the nape of his neck. As he deepened the kiss, Percy could feel Annabeth moaning into his mouth.

Yes! She was a moaner. Gods, she was perfect.

Within seconds the kiss became more passionate, Annabeth ran her tongue along Percy's lower lip, begging for entrance. He obliged. He'd have been a fool not to. The two were now battling for dominance, tongues exploring each other's mouths. The kiss was deep, it was intense, and it was hot! Percy forgot he was standing in the middle of a respectable vegetarian café. He didn't think about the fact that they probably had a staring audience, one of whom was his best friend. All he could focus on was the woman in his arms. Her sweet, soft lips and her very skilful tongue.

But alas, like all good things, it had to end. The couple pulled apart, gasping for much needed air. Percy rested his forehead on Annabeth's, staring intently into her eyes. She was looking back up at him, eyes sparkling, smile as wide as his own.

"Um, well I'm glad you didn't forget to give me that," he said, once his breathing had returned to normal.

Annabeth giggled. Wow, it was such an amazing sound.

"Well, yeah, I really need to go," she stepped out of his arms. Percy immediately missed the feel of her body against his own, "So, I'll be leaving now". And with that she turned on her heal and walked out of the door towards, her brothers, not once looking back at Percy.

Percy watched her go. He wasn't staring at her amazing arse in those tight jeans, or the way her hips swayed as she walked. No, not at all. That would be perverted and as we have already established, Percy Jackson is not a pervert. Oh, who was he kidding? With Annabeth around, who wouldn't be a pervert?

Deep in thought, Percy didn't immediately hear the footsteps approach him, nor did he hear the cough of someone trying to get his attention. It wasn't until he felt a strong slap on the back of his back that he turned around and saw Grover grinning behind him.

"So, I see you've made a new friend?" his best friend said with a knowing wink, "Well I must say, you work fast Mr Jackson. I guess I better tell Juniper to forget her plan for setting you and Rachel up".

Oh shit, Rachel! All of a sudden the euphoria brought on by finally kissing Annabeth all but disappeared, to be replaced by ice cold dread. Rachel! Percy needed to text her back and set her straight.


End file.
